AHA: FTC approach to reviewing hospital transactions seriously flawed

The Federal Trade Commission’s approach to reviewing hospital mergers “is overbroad, does not properly credit the many pro-consumer benefits of hospital transactions, and ignores key realities of the marketplace,” according to an analysis submitted to the agency for a series of FTC hearings on Competition and Consumer Protection in the 21^st Century. Performed for the AHA by Charles River Associates in conjunction with antitrust counsel at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, the analysis describes “serious flaws” in the supply and demand models that the FTC uses to evaluate the competitive effects of hospital transactions.