Press Release 05/2025
July 3, 2025

The investigation
On 14 March 2019, the Portuguese Competition Authority (AdC) launched an investigation into a sectoral association and five business groups operating in the private healthcare sector, following several complaints received in February 2019.
According to the investigation, these entities coordinated with each other, with the involvement of the sectoral association, to fix prices and other commercial conditions in negotiations with ADSE. They are also suspected of jointly suspending or threatening to terminate agreements with the aim of pressuring the settlement of outstanding invoices from 2015 and 2016.
The alleged conduct took place across the national territory, at least between 2014 and 2019.
To establish the facts, the AdC carried out unannounced inspections and requested information from the companies involved and third parties, under the terms of the Portuguese Competition Law.
On 29 July 2021, the AdC issued a Statement of Objections against five healthcare groups and a sectoral association and concluded the investigation with the adoption of a final decision imposing sanctions in June 2022.

Decision of the Competition, Regulation and Supervision Court
The undertakings appealed the AdC’s decision to the Competition, Regulation and Supervision Court (TCRS). They also appealed the AdC’s interlocutory decision regarding the treatment and classification of confidentiality claims relating to electronic correspondence seized by the AdC. The TCRS ruled on this latter appeal and dismissed it, prompting one of the undertakings to lodge a further appeal with the Lisbon Court of Appeal (TRL).
The TRL held that, as the electronic correspondence had been seized by the AdC with the authorisation of the Public Prosecutor (MP), such seizure was illegitimate since, in its view, it should have been preceded by authorisation from an examining magistrate. Accordingly, the TRL ordered the TCRS to declare the nullity of that evidence.
On 15 April 2024, in compliance with the ruling of the higher court, the TCRS ordered the removal from the case file of the emails seized by the AdC under authorisation from the MP, as they could not be used as evidence.
As a result, the Court ordered the case to be returned to the investigation phase, with the AdC responsible for determining the next steps.

New Statement of Objections

The AdC decided to reopen the investigation and, based on valid evidence still on file, concluded the inquiry by issuing a new Statement of Objections (SO) in June 26, 2025.
The SO concern an anti-competitive agreement in the context of negotiations with ADSE. The case involves a sectoral association and five private healthcare groups.
The SO does not determine the outcome of the proceedings. The companies concerned may now exercise their rights of defence and be heard regarding the alleged facts and the sanctions under consideration.

The conduct in question
The AdC has found evidence suggesting that the companies coordinated strategies and negotiating positions in their dealings with ADSE, at least between 2016 and 2019.
The alleged agreement aimed to fix prices and commercial conditions, as well as to coordinate the suspension or threat of terminating agreements in order to exert pressure for the settlement of invoices from 2015 and 2016.
This conduct enabled the companies to enhance their bargaining power vis-à-vis ADSE, potentially resulting in more favourable conditions than would have been achieved through individual negotiations in a competitive context.
The threat or suspension of agreements would only be effective if carried out simultaneously by multiple companies, as this would restrict ADSE beneficiaries' access to the contracted provider network, pushing them towards the non-contracted regime — more costly for users and more profitable for private providers.

Additional context
The case originated from several complaints and reports in the media.
ADSE is the health subsystem for civil servants and their families, funded through mandatory contributions.
The Portuguese Competition Law expressly prohibits agreements between companies that significantly restrict competition, due to their highly harmful effects on consumers, competitiveness and the economy at large.