U.S. trade regulator wins round in fight
to stop Chicago hospital merger
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[November 01, 2016]
By Diane Bartz
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An appeals court
sided on Monday with U.S. antitrust enforcers trying to stop a merger of
two Chicago hospital systems, handing the government a victory in its
effort to block deals that it believes will lead to higher prices.
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission had filed a lawsuit in December 2015
to stop the proposed merger of Advocate Health Care and NorthShore
University HealthSystem. But a district court in Chicago disagreed with
the FTC's analysis that the deal could lead to higher prices and said it
could go forward.
The FTC appealed, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
said that the lower court's findings regarding the market was "clearly
erroneous."
Essentially, the FTC and the companies proposing to merge had disagreed
on how far consumers would drive to be treated at a hospital under
ordinary circumstances and the appeals court sided with the FTC.
"The FTC is pleased that the Seventh Circuit rejected the district
court’s geographic market findings, and we are looking forward to
proving our case," said Debbie Feinstein, director of the FTC’s Bureau
of Competition, in a statement.
Advocate Health Care and NorthShore said in a statement that they were
disappointed. "While our legal teams review the decision, we remain
confident our merger would lower costs and improve outcomes for
consumers," the companies said in a statement.
Advocate and NorthShore announced plans to merge in September 2014.
Advocate is in Downers Grove, a suburb west of Chicago while NorthShore
is in Evanston, a northern suburb.
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Advocate says on its website that it is the largest health system in
Illinois with 12 hospitals among its 250 facilities. NorthShore has
four hospitals, according to its website.
The FTC had said the merged hospital system would control 55 percent
of the area's general acute care inpatient services. The hospitals
argued that the federal agency's analysis had improperly failed to
include competitors such as Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
Financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed.
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The FTC was seeking a preliminary injunction aimed at stopping the
deal while its internal judge hears the case. A preliminary
injunction generally scuppers proposed mergers as few companies can
keep a deal together during the extended internal FTC review.
The FTC, which works with the U.S. Department of Justice to
administer antitrust law, has struggled lately to enforce its
decisions.
But the agency won high-profile fights to stop Sysco Foods from
merging with rival US Foods last year and this year blocked Staples
from merging with Office Depot.
(Reporting by Diane Bartz; Editing by Bill Rigby)
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