FTC Enforcement and Hershey Hospital Merger - Webinar this Friday

Join us this Friday at 1:30 pm EDT for a webinar with two of our Antitrust colleagues, Robert Kidwell and Bruce Sokler. They will discuss recent events in the Hershey Hospital merger and their impact on FTC's hospital merger enforcement program. Learn more about these recent updates from the comfort of your computer in our one-hour webinar.

Hershey Hospital Merger Blocked

Yesterday, the Third Circuit granted a preliminary injunction preventing the merger between Penn State Hershey Medical Center and Pinnacle Health System. Previously, the district court had denied the FTC’s and State of Pennsylvania’s motion challenging the merger. The district court found that the merger challenge was not meritorious, particularly in light of Affordable Care Act policies. But the FTC’s hospital merger enforcement program was revived with yesterday's Third Circuit's decision, which is significant to healthcare lawyers and providers.

During the webinar, Rob and Bruce will review this important decision and the court’s approach to:

1. Geographic markets in hospital merger cases
2. The central role of the FTC’s hypothetical monopolist test
3. Renewed emphasis on the testimony and role of insurers
4. Using the efficiency defense in merger litigation
5. Relevance of merging parties’ forward-looking contracts with payers
6. The capital-avoidance justification for mergers
7. The place of the ACA in hospital merger analysis

Possible Impact on Advocate Merger

And because Pennsylvania can't have all the fun, Rob and Bruce will also discuss how the Hershey decision might impact the FTC’s pending challenge to the Advocate merger in Chicago, which we have blogged about before.

Register today for this webinar on Friday, September 30, 2016; 1:30-2:30pm EDT.

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