Becker's ASC Review

44 HEALTHCARE NEWS FTC urges Texas regulators to block CHS' divestiture of 2 hospitals By Alia Paavola T he Federal Trade Commission is urg- ing Texas regulators to block Franklin, Tenn.-based Community Health Systems' planned divestiture of two hospitals in the state. In April, CHS announced its intent to sell the 231-bed Abilene (Texas) Regional Medical Center to Abilene-based Hendrick Health System and its 171-bed San Angelo (Texas) Community Medical Center to Shannon Health System in San Angelo. e Texas Health and Human Services Commission ultimately will approve or block the proposed transactions. Texas implemented a law that shields the deals from federal oversight in exchange for state oversight. In a letter to the Texas commission, the FTC argues that if the deals are allowed to move forward, the combinations would remove competition in the markets, resulting in higher prices and harming consumers. Particularly, if Hendrick Health System is allowed to purchase Abilene Regional, the combined organization would have an 85 percent market share of inpatient services in the region, the FTC said. "Hendrick competes vigorously with Abilene Regional to be included in health plan networks and to attract patients. e proposed Hendrick merger would eliminate this competition and would likely lead to increased prices and reduced quality and availability of healthcare services in Midwest Texas," the FTC wrote in the letter. In addition, the FTC argues that if the dives- titure of San Angelo Community Medical Center to Shannon Health moves forward, the combined organization will have a 62.3 percent market share of inpatient hospital services and would have concentration numbers that "approach monopoly levels." n HCA co-founder, Epic CEO among 400 wealthiest Americans By Ayla Ellison T he 400 richest people in America are worth a record $3.2 trillion, according to Forbes' ranking of the wealthiest Americans in 2020. Forbes released the 39th edition of the list on Sept. 8. To identify the 400 wealthiest people in America, the publication reviewed thousands of Securities and Exchange Commission documents, court records, probate records and news articles. Forbes took into account all types of assets for the ranking, in- cluding stakes in public and private companies and real estate. The publication did include wealth belonging to immediate family if the wealth could be traced to a living founder of the fortune. Thomas Frist Jr., MD, and family ranked No. 42 on this year's list. Dr. Frist is the co-founder of Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare, the biggest for-profit hospital chain in the U.S. His net worth was $12.3 billion as of Sept. 10, according to Forbes. Judy Faulkner, founder and CEO of EHR provider Epic, is No. 115 on this year's list. As of Sept. 10, Ms. Faulkner's net worth was $5.5 billion, according to Forbes. Phillip (Terry) Ragon, founder of InterSystems, a software com- pany that enables banks and hospitals to analyze big data, has a net worth of $2.2 billion and is No. 378 on this year's list. n Illinois system to join Northwestern Medicine By Alia Paaola P alos Health, a system with 3,000 employees in Palos Heights, Ill., has signed a letter of intent to join Chicago-based Northwestern Medicine. The deal was announced Sept. 11. The two parties will work toward a definitive agreement, which would ultimately need ap- proval from both organizations' boards as well as regulators. Palos Health includes a 425-licensed bed hospital in Palos Heights, a south campus facility that offers primary and specialty care in Orland Park, Ill., as well as a medical group and hospice care team. "Palos Health has offered innovative approaches to community based healthcare for nearly 50 years," said Terrence Moisan, MD, president and CEO of Palos Health. "The proposed affiliation with Northwestern Medicine will further enhance Palos Health's already strong reputation for pro- viding exceptional community-based care with Northwestern's world-class academic healthcare expertise." n

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