During the opening arguments of the antitrust case against St. Luke's Health System, lawyers representing the Federal Trade Commission and two area hospitals argued the Boise, Idaho-based system's acquisition of an independent physician practice would give the system an unfair advantage in the regional market, according to a report in the Idaho Press-Tribune.
The case arose from St. Luke's acquisition of Saltzer Medical Group, a 44-physician practice based in Nampa, Idaho. The deal caught the attention of both the FTC and regional competitors Saint Alphonsus Health System and Treasure Valley Hospital, both based in Boise. Both the healthcare organizations and the FTC filed antitrust suits, which were later combined. A district court judge allowed the acquisition to close late last year, and scheduled the antitrust trial for this month.
According to FTC attorney Tom Greene during the opening statements, the acquisition gives St. Luke's an 80 percent share of the primary care market in Nampa, allowing St. Luke's to raise prices for local employers and consumers. The acquisition of Saltzer therefore violates the Clayton Act and gives St. Luke's an unfair monopoly, said Mr. Greene, according to the report.
A lawyer representing Treasure Valley concurred, expressing the hospital's fear of lost business due to the transaction. After losing referrals from Saltzer providers, "Treasure Valley Hospital will be left to attempt to survive in an unbalanced market," said attorney Ray Powers in the report.
Lawyers representing St. Luke's argued the acquisition will improve care delivery in the region and lower healthcare costs by helping St. Luke's become an integrated care system, according to the report. St. Luke's lawyers also pointed to the system's recent investment in Epic as an example of how the system is making substantial investments to increase care coordination.
The lawyers representing St. Luke's also contended the regional market is larger than Nampa, and St. Luke's would be unable to raise prices in Nampa without consumers moving to another nearby provider, according to the report.
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