The FTC's Evanston Decision -
Are Mergers Still OK?
Audio
Conference
November 15,
2005
1:00 - 2:30 pm (Eastern Time)
Faculty: Dan
Mulholland, Susan
Lapenta & Phil Zarone
The Trustbusters are back!
On October 20, 2005, an administrative law judge
(ALJ) for the Federal Trade Commission handed down a 225-page decision
requiring Evanston Northwestern Healthcare Corporation in Evanston,
Illinois to sell Highland Park Hospital within 180 days.
The ALJ found that the acquisition of
Highland Park by Evanston in 2000 "substantially lessened
competition" and
ordered the extraordinary remedy of divestiture. In doing so,
the ALJ made a number of specific findings which, if upheld on
appeal, could significantly alter how hospital mergers will be
treated in the future, as well as change other aspects of health
care antitrust law.
Among other things, the ALJ concluded:
- The relevant product market was inpatient services
sold to managed care organizations, ignoring competition from
outpatient facilities
- Patient flow statistics were irrelevant for
defining the geographic market
- Market perceptions of managed care organizations
were given great weight
- The fact that one hospital's chargemaster
was updated provided evidence of market power
- Management memos about the merger's achievements
were used against the hospital
- The hospital's nonprofit status didn't matter
Registration Fee: $220
Audio CD: $225
With registration, audio
CDs are
available for an additional $50.
ORDER
NOW
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