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Due to FTC Scrutiny, Reading Health Terminates Surgical Hospital Purchase

Reading (Pa.) Health System has terminated its plan to acquire the Surgical Institute of Reading after the Federal Trade Commission authorized an action to block the deal, according to a Reading Eagle report.

In May, Reading Health agreed to acquire SIR, a physician-owned specialty hospital in Wyomissing, Pa. SIR is comprised of 16 physician owners and has 11 independent physicians on staff.

The FTC and Pennsylvania Attorney General Linda Kelly asked a federal court for an injunction to bar the deal. Federal officials claimed the proposed deal would result in combined Reading Health-SIR market shares ranging from 49 to 71 percent for certain services.

Reading Health officials disagreed with the FTC and AG, according to the report, but decided the long-term costs of a legal dispute with the government were not justified.

"We reach this conclusion with regret because we believe the merger of these two strong, high-quality healthcare institutions clearly would have benefited the community," Reading Health CEO Clint Matthews said in the report.

More Articles on Hospitals and the FTC:

FTC Challenges Reading Health's Acquisition of Specialty Hospital in Pennsylvania
Is Hospital Consolidation Exacerbating Higher Healthcare Prices?
St. Alphonsus in Idaho Files Antitrust Suit Against St. Luke's Over Practice Acquisition



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