Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison will hold a public meeting Oct. 25 to engage local communities as part of a review to ensure two proposed mergers in the state are in compliance with both federal and state law, according to an Oct. 3 Duluth News Tribune report.

Milwaukee-based Froedtert Health has struck a deal to acquire Ascension Wisconsion's stake in Network Health, the health insurer jointly owned by the systems.  

Here is a summary of hospital and healthcare merger and acquisition-related transactions from September:

Mercy Iowa City hospital is now under auction as a rival bid is competing with the University of Iowa health system, The Gazette reported Oct. 3. 

Columbia-based University of Missouri Health Care has expanded its strategic relationship with local hospitals belonging to Community Health Systems. 

Mullica Hill, N.J.-based Inspira Health has completed the integration of Salem, N.J.-based Salem Medical Center, which has been rebranded as Inspira Medical Center Mannington. 

Three Ohio facilities, including two hospitals, operated by Community Hospitals and Wellness Centers are now officially part of Fort Wayne, Ind.-based Parkview Health.

Mobile, Ala.-based University of South Alabama announced that Ascension Providence Hospital and its clinics are part of USA Health, the university's academic health system. 

Yale (Conn.) New Haven Health signed a deal in November to acquire three hospitals owned by Prospect Medical. The slow regulatory approval process and a recent cyberattack that disrupted the hospitals' IT systems have Yale concerned about the viability of the transaction, according to the CT Mirror.

Sacramento, Calif.-based Sutter Health is expanding its California Central Coast presence with the integration of Sansum Clinic, a 36-facility outpatient network based in the Santa Barbara area.

Manchester, N.H.-based Catholic Medical Center's CEO Alex Walker said the health system has been on a mission to find a "partner that will, first and foremost, support our mission of health, healing and hope, as well as a partner who will embrace who we are as a Catholic hospital."

Milford (Mass.) Regional Medical Center is exploring a "potential corporate affiliation" with Worcester-based UMass Memorial Health, the largest nonprofit healthcare system in Central Massachusetts, the two entities said Sept. 27.

Manchester, N.H.-based Catholic Medical Center has signed a nonbinding letter of intent to explore a potential merger with Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare. 

Some of the largest health system mergers and acquisitions over the two years have been cross-market transactions, a trend that is anticipated to gather momentum despite the Federal Trade Commission taking a firmer stance on deals that could potentially violate antitrust laws.

The CEO of Derby, Conn.-based Griffin Hospital warned Gov. Ned Lamont that the debt burden of the hospital's parent company, Prospect Medical Holdings, and a recent cyberattack could complicate a potential sale to Yale New Haven Health, CT Mirror reported Sept. 21.

El Segundo, Calif.-based Pipeline Health has agreed a deal to sell White Rock Medical Center in Dallas to Heights Healthcare of Texas. The sale is expected to close on or before Oct. 2.

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and Allentown, Pa.-based Lehigh Valley Health Network have inked an affiliation agreement to expand on their long-standing relationship. 

Dallas-based Medical City Healthcare is edging closer to taking over Decatur, Texas-based Wise Health system, with the transaction due to close in the fourth quarter.

The takeover of Burgaw, N.C.-based Pender Medical Center by Novant Health, which plans to turn the facility into a community hospital, took a step forward when county commissioners voted unanimously to approve the transaction, according to a Sept. 18 report from NBC affiliate WECT6 News.

CommonSpirit Health and AdventHealth decided to disaffiliate in February, breaking up their joint venture Centura Health.