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US: Idaho case could alter hospital mergers throughout nation

By  |  October 28, 2013

A major antitrust lawsuit within Idaho’s healthcare sector may cause the US Federal Trade Commission to re-examine healthcare deals across the country that have already been completed, according to one expert.

Antitrust lawyer Jonathan Lewis at Baker Hostetler said the case of St. Luke’s Health System acquiring Saltzer Medical Group could reverberate throughout the nation. St. Lukes was sued by the FTC as well as rival Saint Alphonsus Health System and the Idaho attorney general regarding the buyout.

Closing arguments in the case are scheduled for November 7.

Lewis told reporters said “there’s a lot more at stake beyond the transaction” in the case, especially considering rising healthcare costs in the nation, reports say.

Full content: Idaho State Journal

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