Two West Virginia hospitals said Friday that they “remain committed” to a deal that the Federal Trade Commission has moved to block, saying it would create a near monopoly for acute-care and outpatient surgery across four counties in Ohio and West Virginia.
The FTC said it would go to federal court for a preliminary injunction to stop Cabell Huntington (W.Va.) Hospital from acquiring crosstown rival St. Mary's Medical Center if the Catholic Church and state officials allow the deal.
Cabell Huntington CEO Kevin Fowler said the FTC challenge “misreads the highly competitive landscape” across the hospitals' three-state market of Kentucky, Ohio and West Virginia, and “overlooks the enormous community benefits” that would come from the deal.
The FTC, however, has been on a winning streak in hospital cases in recent years, successfully persuading federal judges to accept its definitions of markets and rebuffing providers' arguments that they are consolidating to provide more efficient and higher-quality care and meet the demands of the Affordable Care Act.
West Virginia's attorney general approved the acquisition at the end of July but set conditions intended to insulate consumers from any negative effects for seven years.
