FTC’s Hospital Merger Oversight at Risk in Louisiana, HCA Fight

The Federal Trade Commission is drawing a line in the sand after generally deferring to states to assess and approve certain hospital mergers that may pose anticompetitive issues in local markets.

For decades, the FTC has shrugged off hospitals’ use of state-issued “Certificates of Public Advantage” (COPAs) that allowed them to pursue mergers without risking the agency’s lawsuit to block the deal. But HCA Healthcare Inc.'s $150 million sale of three hospitals to Louisiana Children’s Medical Center (LCMC) has finally convinced the FTC to ask a court to weigh in on the issue.

The FTC has tangled with COPA laws ...