Downers Grove, Ill.-based Advocate Health Care and Evanston, Ill.-based NorthShore University HealthSystem have asked a federal appeals court to speed up the process of hearing arguments from federal antitrust regulators who are determined to stop the two Chicagoland systems from merging.
On June 14, an Illinois federal judge denied the Federal Trade Commission's request to block the Advocate-NorthShore merger. The following day, the FTC appealed the decision. On June 17, U.S. Northern District Judge Jorge Alonso granted an injunction request from the FTC, pausing the merger until the appeals court hears the case.
On Monday, Advocate and NorthShore asked the Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals for an expedited schedule that would wrap up the appeals briefing process by the end of July. "Each day of additional delay in closing the merger has significant implications for both the hospitals and their patients," according to the systems' motion.
The motion also noted that additional delay of the merger will jeopardize the combined system's ability to market a new low-cost insurance product for 2017 that can't be offered until the merger is complete.
Federal antitrust regulators responded by asking the appeals court to approve a schedule that allows the briefing process to run through the end of August.
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