Lisbon, July 3, 2025 (Lusa) - The Portuguese Competition Authority (AdC) has reopened its investigation and charged five private healthcare hospitals and a sector association with concerted practices in negotiations with ADSE, between 2016 and 2019, it was announced on Thursday.
In July 2022, the AdC imposed a global fine of almost €191 million on a series of healthcare groups for concerted practices in the context of negotiations with ADSE, the state employee healthcare system.
The fine was imposed on the Portuguese Private Hospitalisation Association (APHP), Trofa Saúde Group, Trofa Private Hospital, Hospital Particular do Algarve (HPA), José de Mello Capital, CUF, Lusíadas SGPS, Lusíadas S.A., and Luz Saúde.
According to the Competition investigation, these entities coordinated among themselves, with the involvement of the sector's association, to fix prices and other commercial conditions in negotiations with ADSE, as well as to suspend or threaten to terminate agreements, to pressure the regularisation of invoicing for 2015 and 2016.
"This action allowed the companies to strengthen their negotiating power vis-à-vis ADSE, and may have resulted in more favourable conditions than those that would have resulted from individual negotiations in competition," the AdC said in a statement sent out today.
The authority explains that the threat or series of suspensions of agreements would only be effective if carried out by several companies simultaneously, as it would limit ADSE beneficiaries' access to the agreement network, pushing them towards the free regime, which is more costly for users and more profitable for private providers.
The highest fine was awarded to the Mello Group (€74,980,000), followed by Luz (€66,209,000), Grupo Lusíadas (€34,242,000), HPA (€8,818,000), Grupo Trofa (€6,696,000) and APHP (€50,000).
After the companies appealed to the Competition, Regulation and Supervision Court (TCRS), which ruled that the case was unfounded, one of the companies appealed to the Lisbon Court of Appeal (TRL), which concluded that, as the case concerned electronic correspondence seized by the AdC with the authorisation of the Public Prosecutor's Office, the seizure was invalid. The details of the evidence should be considered null and void.
Consequently, the court ordered the case to be returned to the inquiry stage.
"The AdC reopened the investigation and, based on the other details in the case file, concluded the inquiry with the adoption of a new finding of unlawfulness on 26 June 2025," the authority said today, stressing that the finding of unlawfulness does not determine the outcome of the case and that the companies concerned will now be able to exercise their right to a hearing and defence concerning the facts they are accused of and the sanctions in question.
The case was opened in March 2019, following several news reports and complaints.
In May of the same year, the AdC carried out a search and seizure operation at the premises of these companies in Lisbon, Porto and Portimão.
Around two years later, in July 2021, the Competition Authority adopted a finding of unlawfulness.
ADSE is the health subsystem for public administration workers and their families, funded by contributions.
The PCA emphasised that "the Competition Act expressly prohibits agreements between companies aimed at significantly restricting competition, given their highly damaging nature for consumers, competitiveness and the economy in general".
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