AHA urges FTC not to 're-litigate' health system merger in administrative proceedings

The AHA yesterday urged the Federal Trade Commission to continue any administrative proceedings involving the proposed combination of Hershey Medical Center and PinnacleHealth until after a federal appeals court issues a decision in the matter. “Having lost its case in a federal district court, the FTC should not now re-litigate the case in administrative proceedings at great cost to the hospitals – particularly when the Third Circuit’s expedited appeal could resolve the entire matter in a relatively short period of time,” wrote Melinda Reid Hatton, AHA senior vice president and general counsel. A federal district judge last month denied the FTC’s request to stop the merger while it completes an administrative trial, concluding that patients “stand to gain much from a combined entity” and that the agency’s antitrust claims were based on an “unrealistically narrow” four-county market. AHA said the case “demonstrates the reasons why SMARTER Act reforms are both necessary and urgent.”