The Antimonopoly Office of the Slovak Republic (Protimonopolný úrad SR) has uncovered a cartel involving four medical laboratories and one association operating in Slovakia, imposing fines totaling nearly €15 million for anti-competitive behavior. The decision is not yet final, as most of the involved parties have appealed, though one participant cooperated with the investigation and received a reduced penalty. According to officials, the cartel affected the entire market for laboratory diagnostics in Slovakia and operated both before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The case began in 2023 after Slovakia’s Value for Money Unit of the Ministry of Finance flagged suspicious behavior in contract negotiations between major laboratories and health insurers. The antitrust authority subsequently carried out inspections and launched formal proceedings in May 2024, which lasted nearly two years and resulted in a 370-page decision.
Officials found that the companies engaged in price-fixing, market and customer allocation, coordination in public procurement, and exchange of sensitive information. As PMÚ representatives noted, they “went to the limit of what the law allows,” imposing fines up to 10 percent of global turnover and the maximum severity level under Slovak rules, along with a three-year ban from public procurement for most participants.
According to cartel division director Juraj Sýrny, the firms coordinated a joint strategy in negotiations with all three Slovak health insurers, aiming to secure higher prices and more favorable contract terms, including for COVID-19 testing services. The arrangements reportedly took place from 2017 until 2022, expanding during the pandemic to include coronavirus testing services.
Authorities warned that such practices reduced competition, distorted independent market behavior, and could have led to inefficient use of public funds and higher costs for the healthcare system, all in violation of competition law.
Source: STVR
