Kaiser, Geisinger Deal May Speed Up Hospital Consolidation

Antitrust attorney Kenneth Racowski was interviewed for a Modern Healthcare article analyzing the state of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the healthcare industry. The article focuses on hospital consolidation and the trend toward cross-state deals, such the recent Kaiser Permanente acquisition of Geisinger Health, over regional transactions. Mr. Racowski commented that the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) increased scrutiny of in-state combinations may explain some of the shift.

"A very chilly climate and posture from the FTC about hospital consolidation is causing M&A folks at health systems to be more careful," he said. "Expanding outside of your core market puts you in a better situation from an antitrust perspective. But what is the business justification for that?"

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