Increased FTC scrutiny of hospital deals coming, commissioner says

• The FTC plans to challenge several pending hospital deals and is considering expanded enforcement of hospital mergers.
• Hospital deal volume either remained steady in 2019 or dipped somewhat, based on tracking-firm reports.
• “Financially distressed” hospitals were the target in one-fifth of the 2019 deals.

Federal regulators plan to challenge “a number” of ongoing hospital deals and are considering widening their net to include more such transactions, a commissioner said this week.

Christine Wilson, a member of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), said at a Jan. 16 healthcare policy event in Washington, D.C., that the agency is focused on hospital deals and has reexamined its past approaches.

“We are intent on challenging...