Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, STRATEGIC PERSPECTIVES: Hospitals have new tool to address loss of physician referrals from acquisitions, (Mar 4, 2015)

By David A. Ettinger, Esq.

The Ninth Circuit's recent decision in Saint Alphonsus Medical Center-Nampa Inc. v. St. Luke’s Health Systems, Ltd. may provide protection for hospitals concerned about the loss of referrals when rivals purchase physician groups. These issues may be especially significant when dominant hospitals use physician practice purchases to increase their market shares. Antitrust claims may be available both to prevent planned acquisitions and to seek damages resulting from past acquisitions.

In an article—entitled “Saint Alphonsus v. St. Luke’s: A Shield for Threatened Hospitals?”—David A. Ettinger, lead counsel for the successful private plaintiffs in the case, discusses these issues. Ettinger, who chairs Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn LLP's Antitrust & Trade Regulation Practice Group, also suggests that hospitals may be able to pursue these claims as private actions and raise their concerns with antitrust enforcement officials.

The article is available here.

Attorneys: David A. Ettinger (Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn LLP).

Companies: Saint Alphonsus Medical Center-Nampa Inc.; St. Luke's Health System, Ltd.

MainStory: AcquisitionsMergers Antitrust