NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee Attorney General’s Office has joined the Federal Trade Commission in an effort to stop a Memphis hospital merger.
Back in December, Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare revealed a plan to buy Saint Francis Hospitals in Bartlett and Memphis. Last week, the FTC announced it had filed a federal lawsuit in order to block the proposed $350 million deal.
Attorney General Herbert Slatery’s name was on that lawsuit when it was filed Monday.
“The numbers are striking,” said Slatery in a release. “If this deal were to go forward, Methodist would control roughly 60% of the inpatient General Acute Care (GAC) market in Memphis. That’s nearly twice the share of its next closest competitor. We have concluded that if Methodist controlled that much of the market, Tennesseans in Memphis would face higher prices and fewer options for their healthcare.”
“Methodist, which already operates the major children’s hospital in the Memphis area that all insurers want in their networks, would also control seven of the twelve hospitals serving the adult GAC market, including the only hospital in Bartlett. We are not convinced that any positive effects of the proposed transaction would offset the harms it would cause.”
In its lawsuit, the FTC asked the courts for a restraining order and preliminary injunction pending the outcome of an administrative trial. That trial is set to begin in May 2021.
