FTC Aims to Undo Chicago Hospitals' Merger

From HealthLeaders' legal news:

Federal regulators are targeting what they say is an elusive culprit contributing to the soaring hospital costs of recent years: mergers. In February, the Federal Trade Commission will seek to undo the January 2000 takeover of Highland Park Hospital, in suburban Chicago, by Evanston Northwestern Healthcare Corp. The FTC accuses Evanston, which already ran two hospitals in the area, of antitrust violations, saying it used its postmerger "market power" to impose huge price increases on insurers and employers.

The source for this story is a piece in Monday's Wall Street Journal (requires paid registration).

Pleadings and motions are on-line in FTC Docket No. 9315.  [tm]