The Irish Hospital Consultants' Association (IHCA) has accused the Competition Authority of an aggressive manner in handling an investigation into allegations of price-fixing.
The authority is not expected to take a criminal action against the IHCA at the moment, but a civil action has not been ruled out, it emerged at the annual meeting of the association in Tullamore.
The authority began its investigation in March when it entered the headquarters of the IHCA and removed documentation relating to negotiations which the body held with the VHI, BUPA and the Law Society.
It is understood that the investigation was prompted by a complaint in relation to fees for writing up legal reports. Several doctors were said to be breaching the recommended fee agreement negotiated between the IHCA and the Law Society.
The IHCA secretary-general, Mr Finbar Fitzpatrick, told the conference yesterday that the Competition Authority had entered the premises with a warrant, and had behaved in an aggressive and intimidating manner.
The IHCA met the authority in the past week but has not been told what action, if any, the body intends to take.
Consultants will have to return to billing patients individually if the authority decides that it is anti-competitive to implement an agreement on fees with VHI and BUPA, Mr Fitzpatrick warned.
He said the authority did not understand that while the association could negotiate fees with various bodies, a minority of consultants might choose to charge different amounts.
It was strange that an arm of the State was investigating fees which had been accepted by the Law Society, the Department of Justice, the Department of Finance and the Chief State Solicitor's Office, Mr Fitzpatrick said.