| Arizona v. Maricopa County Medical Society | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Argued November 4, 1981 Decided June 18, 1982 | |
| Full case name | Arizona v. Maricopa County Medical Society |
| Citations | 457 U.S. 332 (more) 102 S. Ct. 2466; 73 L. Ed. 2d 48 |
| Case history | |
| Prior | 643 F.2d 553 (9th Cir. 1980) |
| Holding | |
| The maximum fee agreements, as price-fixing agreements, are per se unlawful under § 1 of the Sherman Antitrust Act. | |
| Court membership | |
| |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Stevens, joined by Brennan, White, Marshall |
| Dissent | Powell, joined by Burger, Rehnquist |
| Blackmun, O'Connor took no part in the consideration or decision of the case. | |
| Laws applied | |
| Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 | |
Arizona v. Maricopa County Medical Society, 457 U.S. 332 (1982), was a U.S. Supreme Court case involving antitrust law. A society of doctors in Maricopa County, Arizona, established maximum fees that their members could claim for seeing patients who were covered by certain health insurance plans. Arizona charged them with violations of state antitrust law regarding price fixing. The society tried to rebut the state's charges by claiming that the maximum-fee arrangement was necessary to allow doctors to see these patients, and therefore generated economic benefits.
On appeal, the Supreme Court rejected this defense, saying that price fixing was not truly necessary here: the society could have used insurance to pool their risk. The society's efficiency justification was either a pretext, or else could have been done through less restrictive means. The Court held that their justifications failed as a matter of fact.