Appeals court says St. Luke's can continue operating Saltzer

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled Boise, Idaho-based St. Luke's Health System may maintain ties with Saltzer Medical Group in Nampa, Idaho, despite a January ruling that ordered the two organizations to separate.

In January, Chief U.S. Judge B. Lynn Winmill ruled St. Luke's 2012 acquisition of Saltzer Medical Group, one of the largest independent multispecialty groups in Idaho, would cause substantial anticompetitive effects. The judge ordered St. Luke's to divest Saltzer.

The decision was part of an antitrust case against St. Luke's that was brought by the Federal Trade Commission, Attorney General Lawrence Wasden and two of St. Luke's competitors — Saint Alphonsus Health System and Treasure Valley Hospital in Boise.

On June 12, St. Luke's appealed the January decision, and the court ruled St. Luke's can continue operating Saltzer while it challenges the rest of the prior ruling that it violated antitrust laws.

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