The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has filed suit to block the acquisition of Steward Health Care System by HCA Healthcare.
The news comes just after HCA Healthcare was hit with a second antitrust lawsuit for anti-competitive actions. The healthcare company owns more than 70% of market share in seven counties in North Carolina, and its monopoly has led to higher healthcare prices and lower quality of care for residents, the lawsuit alleges.
HCA is a Nashville, Tennessee-based for-profit healthcare system with 182 hospitals in the United States and abroad, while Steward Health is a for-profit healthcare system headquartered in Dallas, Texas, with 41 hospitals in the U.S. and abroad. According to the FTC, the acquisition would eliminate the second and fourth largest healthcare systems in the Wasatch Front region, where 80% of Utah residents live.
“As the second and fourth largest healthcare systems in the Wasatch Front region of Utah, which surrounds Salt Lake City, HCA Healthcare and Steward Health Care System help to keep costs down for consumers by competing vigorously with each other,” FTC Bureau of Competition Director Holly Vedova said in a statement. “The result is lower prices and more innovative services for patients and their families. If these companies merge, this competition will be lost, and Steward will no longer be available to patients as a low-cost provider in this region.”
In its complaint, the FTC also named HCA Healthcare CEO Ralph de la Torre, MD. The complaint alleges the deal would reduce the number of healthcare systems offering inpatient general acute care hospital services, bringing the number down from three to two health systems in some counties. It would also eliminate Steward as a low-cost competitor in the region for HCA Healthcare, and increase market concentration levels significantly.
The FTC voted to seek a temporary restraining order to block the deal 5-0. The federal court complaint and request for preliminary relief will be filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah to halt the transaction pending an administrative proceeding, and the administrative trial is scheduled to begin on Dec. 13, 2022.
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Amy joined TriMed Media as a Senior Writer for HealthExec after covering home care for three years. When not writing about all things healthcare, she fulfills her lifelong dream of becoming a pirate by sailing in regattas and enjoying rum. Fun fact: she sailed 333 miles across Lake Michigan in the Chicago Yacht Club "Race to Mackinac."