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US: Appeals court rules against hospital merger

By  |  October 31, 2016

A federal appeals court has temporarily put the brakes on a proposed merger of Advocate Health Care and NorthShore University HealthSystem, reversing a lower court’s decision.

A three-judge panel of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided Monday with the Federal Trade Commission, which has been seeking a preliminary injunction to temporarily halt a merger of the two hospital systems. Calling a federal court ruling “erroneous,” the appeals court sent the case back to the lower court.

The systems have argued that a union between them will mean higher quality health care and lower costs for consumers. They say they would offer an insurance product 10 percent less expensive than the next lowest-price comparable product available, saving consumers at least $210 million a year.

Full Content: Chicago Tribune

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