US: FTC dismisses case against hospital deal

The Federal Trade Commission dismissed its case against Cabell Huntington Hospital’s acquisition of St. Mary’s Medical Center on Wednesday, bringing the hospitals one step closer to finalizing the deal.

The FTC’s administrative complaint, issued in November, alleged that the proposed merger violated US antitrust law and would create a monopoly, leading to higher prices and lower quality.

The commission voted to dismiss the complaint in light of the passage in March of a new West Virginia law relating to certain “cooperative agreements” between hospitals in the state, and the West Virginia Health Care Authority’s decision to approve a cooperative agreement between the hospitals, with which the West Virginia Attorney General concurred. Cooperative agreement laws seek to replace antitrust enforcement with state regulation and supervision of healthcare provider combinations.

“This case presents another example of healthcare providers attempting to use state legislation to shield potentially anticompetitive combinations from antitrust enforcement,” the commission wrote.

“The commission believes that state cooperative agreement laws such as SB 597 are likely to harm communities through higher healthcare prices and lower healthcare quality.”

Cabell Huntington began its acquisition of St. Mary’s in 2014, after the Pallottine Sisters announced they were selling the hospital.

Full Content: Modern Health Care

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