The agency tasked with policing competition was able to thwart a number of hospital tie-ups this year, but in a closely watched deal, regulators did not challenge a megamerger between Advocate Aurora Health in the Midwest and Atrium Health in the South, Healthcare Dive reports.
A challenge would have represented a rare attempt by the Federal Trade Commission to block a so-called “cross-market” merger in healthcare.
Instead, regulators stuck to challenging the kinds of provider deals they’ve historically contested, raising questions about its antitrust enforcement in an industry that continues to see deals evolve beyond traditional geographic markets.
“It would be reckless to take away from this that the FTC is going to cease investigating in this area,” Mike Cowie, partner at law firm Dechert, said of cross-market deals.
The FTC has successfully blocked deals between direct competitors, but cross-market deals are trickier, said Cowie, who previously led antitrust merger investigations at the FTC. Read more.
