FTC v. St. Luke’s: Is the Efficiencies Defense Dead or Alive?

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Deirdre McEvoy, Kathrina Szymborski, Apr 27, 2015

A recent Ninth Circuit ruling holding that the merger of St. Luke’s Health System, a not-for-profit health care system operating seven hospitals throughout Idaho, and Saltzer Medical Group, the largest independent multi-specialty physician group in Idaho, violated Section 7 of the Clayton Act has garnered much attention in the health care industry. Two main areas of debate have emerged since the ruling came down in February 2015: (i) the role of efficiencies arguments in merger analyses and (ii) the compatibility of the Affordable Care Act with classic antitrust laws.