Hospital Groups Urge FTC to Ditch Suit Over HCA’s Louisiana Deal

The American Hospital Association and other industry groups asked the Federal Trade Commission to drop the agency’s lawsuit over HCA Healthcare’s sale of three Louisiana hospitals for $150 million, arguing that state approval of the deal preempts federal review.

Louisiana Children’s Medical Center in January acquired the hospitals after receiving the state’s “Certificate of Public Advantage” (COPA) that it says essentially approves the deal. The children’s hospital, along with HCA and Louisiana, asked the US District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana to declare that the certificate allows them to bypass federal antitrust regulators’ review.

The FTC, which has ...