Toledo, Ohio-based ProMedica Health System has filed an application with the Federal Trade Commission to divest Maumee, Ohio-based St. Luke's Hospital.
According to the application, ProMedica want to spin off St. Luke's and restore the hospital's independent status. The public has 30 days to comment on the proposal before the FTC decides whether it accepts the plan.
ProMedica's application ends speculation over whether St. Luke's would regain its independent status or be sold to another system, according to The Blade.
ProMedica and St. Luke's merged in August 2010. After the merger, ProMedica became Lucas County, Ohio's dominant hospital provider controlling more than 50 percent of the market for primary and secondary services and more than 80 percent of the market for obstetrical services.
Five months post-merger, the FTC challenged the transaction. Subsequently, an administrative law judge and later the FTC concluded the merger would adversely affect competition in Lucas County. As a result, the FTC ordered ProMedica to divest St. Luke's, as it concluded divestiture would be the best means to preserve competition.
The FTC's order was upheld by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the case.
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