New Biden Administration Policy on Hospital Mergers May Doom Lifespan-Care New England Deal
GoLocalProv News Team
New Biden Administration Policy on Hospital Mergers May Doom Lifespan-Care New England Deal
The new policies may have a significant impact of the proposed merger between Rhode Island’s two largest hospital groups - Lifespan and Care New England.
Combined a merged organization between the two would have upwards of 80% market share in Rhode Island.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTPresident Joe Biden in announcing the Executive Order stated, “For decades, corporate consolidation has been accelerating. In over 75% of U.S. industries, a smaller number of large companies now control more of the business than they did twenty years ago. This is true across healthcare, financial services, agriculture and more.”
“That lack of competition drives up prices for consumers. As fewer large players have controlled more of the market, mark-ups (charges over cost) have tripled. Families are paying higher prices for necessities—things like prescription drugs, hearing aids, and internet service,” adds Biden.
Specifically, Biden's announcement:
- Calls on the leading antitrust agencies, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC), to enforce the antitrust laws vigorously and recognizes that the law allows them to challenge prior bad mergers that past Administrations did not previously challenge.
- Announces a policy that enforcement should focus in particular on labor markets, agricultural markets, healthcare markets (which includes prescription drugs, hospital consolidation, and insurance), and the tech sector.
READ THE FULL EXECUTIVE ORDER HERE
Even under the Trump administration, the FTC took strong action against hospital mergers in other parts of the country that if approved would have created merged groups with 50% marketshare.