NEW YORK TIMES: In the latest sign that federal regulators are uneasy about the flurry of proposed health care mergers taking place, the Federal Trade Commission said on Friday that it planned to block the combination of two large Illinois hospital groups…
“This merger is likely to significantly increase the combined system’s bargaining power with health plans, which in turn will harm consumers by bringing about higher prices and lower quality,” said Deborah L. Feinstein, director of the agency’s Bureau of Competition, in a statement announcing the decision…
While the agency has traditionally been concerned about hospital mergers, the recent activity underscores just how much deal-making is going on, said Martin Gaynor, a health economist at Carnegie Mellon University and a former F.T.C. official… (more)
EDITOR: Too late for Lancaster where General Health with a billion dollars in value was gifted to the University of Pennsylvania Hospital System for no apparent good reason other than certain people wanted it done.
