It involved the four largest players on the market of laboratory diagnostics – the companies Unilabs Slovensko, Alpha medical, Medirex and the clinical-biochemical laboratories of the Synlab group, which coordinated prices and conditions vis-à-vis health insurance companies.
According to the authority, the cartel concerned the market of laboratory diagnostics throughout Slovakia and was already operating before and during the covid-19 pandemic. According to the findings of the PMÚ, the companies agreed on prices and business conditions, divided the market and customers, coordinated the procedure in public contracts and exchanged sensitive information.
“We went to the limit of the law, i.e. to a maximum of ten percent of global turnover, and we imposed the highest level of seriousness,” said Peter Demčák, vice-chairman of the office. Part of the punishment for most companies is also a three-year ban on participation in public contracts.
The case began in 2023, when the Department of Value for Money of the Ministry of Finance drew attention to the suspicious behavior of laboratories when concluding contracts with health insurance companies. The administrative proceedings started in May 2024 and lasted less than two years. According to the office, the decision has more than 370 pages.
According to the PMÚ, the companies proceeded in a coordinated manner during negotiations with all three health insurance companies with the aim of obtaining the highest possible prices and favorable conditions for the services provided, including covid tests. The cartel operated in two phases – before the pandemic and during it, when the cooperation was expanded to include testing for covid-19.
The office imposed fines in the total amount of almost 15 million euros (roughly 365 million crowns) for the detected anti-competitive behavior. So far, it is a first-instance and non-jurisdictional decision, because most of the affected entities have appealed against it.
