The American Hospital Association has penned a 23-page letter asking the Federal Trade Commission and Justice Department not to finalize proposed adjustments to their merger guidelines. 

UF Health, the University of Florida's academic health center in Gainesville, has completed the acquisition of St. Augustine, Fla.-based Flagler Health+, which will be renamed UF Health St. Johns.

Terre Haute, Ind.-based Union Health will acquire Terre Haute Regional Hospital, which is part of Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare.

Two Wisconsin community hospitals about 60 miles apart have joined forces to create a new system: Tamarack Health. 

Mercy Iowa City hospital, which is the subject of a takeover by the University of Iowa health system, may not remain as a hospital as bondholders seek to solicit other competitive bids from the likes of developers, according to a Sept. 12 The Gazette report.

Southern states such as Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia have enacted laws that are paving the way for large hospital mergers, despite research indicating that lack of competition often leads to fewer services at higher costs, NC Newsline reported Sept. 7. 

Franklin, Tenn.-based Community Health Systems, one of the largest for-profit health systems in the country, is expanding its treatment options for behavioral health patients by integrating services into a primary care setting.

Milwaukee-based Froedtert and Neenah-based ThedaCare, two Wisconsin health systems, have signed a definitive agreement to merge into an 18-hospital system. 

The American Hospital Association wants the Federal Trade Commission to pull its proposed changes to premerger notifications under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act, which requires organizations to report large transactions to the FTC and Justice Department for antitrust review.

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

Billings (Mont.) Clinic and Kalispell, Mont.-based Logan Health officially merged Sept. 1, with attention now turning to implementing a cohesive integration plan, according to the Daily Inter Lake.

Financially challenged Doylestown (Pa.) Health has finalized the sale of its Pine Run retirement community, selling it to Presbyterian Senior Living for $80.6 million.

To assess the degree of similarity between the two health systems, OHSU Health and Legacy Health, we conducted an analysis of the largest hospital in each system—OHSU Hospital and Legacy Emanuel Hospital. The analysis reveals that OHSU Hospital and Legacy Emanuel Hospital have a SimilarityIndex™ M&A Score of 73.89, or a distance of 26.11. Said differently, using OHSU Hospital, Legacy Emanuel Hospital is the 98th most similar hospital out of the 2,299 hospitals in the national analysis, revealing that there are potentially other hospitals that are operationally, financially and competitively more similar but unavailable. OHSU Hospital and Legacy Emanuel Hospital data are sourced from FY2021 Cost Reports.

To assess the degree of similarity between the two health systems, Aspirus Health & St. Luke’s (MN), we conducted an analysis of the largest hospital in each system—Aspirus Wausau Hospital and St. Luke’s Hospital Duluth. The analysis reveals that Aspirus Wausau Hospital and St. Luke’s Hospital Duluth have a SimilarityIndex™ M&A Score of 68.30, or a distance of 31.70. Said differently, using Aspirus Wausau Hospital as the index hospital, St. Luke’s Hospital is the 311th most similar hospital out of the 2,299 hospitals in the national analysis, revealing that there are potentially other hospitals that are operationally, financially and competitively more similar but unavailable. St. Luke’s Hospital and Aspirus Wausau Hospital data are sourced from FY2021 Cost Reports.

To assess the degree of similarity between the announced acquisition between University of South Alabama Health (USA Health) & Ascension, we conducted an analysis of the acquired hospital for USA Health (Providence Hospital) and the largest hospital for USA Health, USA Health University Hospital. The analysis reveals that Providence Hospital and USA Health University Hospital have a SimilarityIndex™ M&A Score of 73.30, or a distance of 26.70. Said differently, using USA Health University Hospital as the index hospital, Providence Hospital is the 229th most similar hospital out of the 2,299 hospitals in the national analysis, revealing that there are other hospitals that are operationally, financially and competitively more similar but are not available for acquisition. USA Health University Hospital and Providence Hospital data are sourced from FY21 Cost Reports.

To assess the degree of similarity between the announced acquisition between Guthrie Clinic & Ascension, we conducted an analysis of the acquired hospital for Guthrie Clinic (Our Lady Lourdes Hospital) and the largest hospital for Guthrie Clinic, Robert Packer Hospital. The analysis reveals that Our Lady Lourdes Hospital and Robert Packer Hospitalhave a SimilarityIndex™ M&A Score of 66.10, or a distance of 33.90. Said differently, using Robert Packer Hospital as the index hospital, Our Lady Lourdes Hospital is the 1132nd most similar hospital out of the 2,299 hospitals in the national analysis, revealing that there are other hospitals that are operationally, financially and competitively more similar. An M&A strategy driven by clinical, operational, and financial similarity would lead to different partners for each system. Our Lady Lourdes Hospital and Robert Packer Hospital data are sourced from FY21 Cost Reports.

To assess the degree of similarity between the two health systems, Vandalia Health & Davis Health System, we conducted an analysis of the largest hospital in each system—Charleston Area Medical Center and Davis Medical Center. The analysis reveals that Charleston Area Medical Center and Davis Medical Center have a SimilarityIndex™ M&A Score of 61.70, or a distance of 38.30. Said differently, using Charleston Area Medical Center as the index hospital, Davis Medical Center is the 991st most similar hospital out of the 2,299 hospitals in the national analysis, revealing that there are many other hospitals that are operationally, financially and competitively more similar. An M&A strategy driven by clinical, operational, and financial similarity would lead to different partners for each system. Davis Medical Center’s data is sourced from FY 2020 Cost Reports, and Charleston Area Medical Center’s data is sourced from FY2021 Cost Reports.

To assess the degree of similarity between the two health systems, Froedtert Health & ThedaCare, we conducted an analysis of the largest hospital in each system—Froedtert Memorial Lutheran Hospital and Theda Regional Medical Center Appleton. The analysis reveals that Froedtert Memorial Lutheran Hospital and Theda Regional Medical Center Appleton have a SimilarityIndex™ M&A Score of 70.90, or a distance of 29.10. Said differently, using Froedtert Memorial Lutheran Hospital as the index hospital, Theda Regional Medical Center is the 1018th most similar hospital out of the 2,299 hospitals in the national analysis, revealing that there are many other hospitals that are operationally, financially and competitively more similar. An M&A strategy driven by clinical, operational, and financial similarity would lead to different partners for each system. Froedtert Memorial Lutheran and ThedaCare RMC Appleton data are sourced from FY2021 Cost Reports.

To assess the degree of similarity between the two health systems, UPMC & Washington Health System, we conducted an analysis of the largest hospital in each system—UPMC Presbyterian Shadyside and The Washington Hospital. The analysis reveals that UPMC Presbyterian Shadyside and The Washington Hospital have a SimilarityIndex™ M&A Score of 64.74, or a distance of 35.26. Said differently, using UPMC Presbyterian Shadyside as the index hospital, The Washington Hospital is the 811th most similar hospital out of the 2,299 hospitals in the national analysis, revealing that there are many other hospitals that are operationally, financially and competitively more similar. An M&A strategy driven by clinical, operational, and financial similarity would lead to different partners for each system. UPMC Presbyterian Shadyside and The Washington Hospital data are sourced from FY 2021 Cost Reports.

On May 31, BJC HealthCare and Saint Luke's Health System signed a letter of intent to form integrated Missouri-based health system. To assess the degree of similarity between the two health systems, we conducted an analysis of the largest hospital in each system—St. Luke’s Kansas City and Barnes-Jewish. The analysis reveals that St. Luke’s and Barnes Jewish have a SimilarityIndex™ M&A Score of 76.60, or a distance of 23.4. Said differently, using Barnes-Jewish as the index hospital, St Luke’s Kansas Cityis its 44th most similar hospital out of the 2,299 hospitals in the national analysis. This suggests there are several other hospitals that are operationally, financially and competitively more similar from an evidence-based perspective. An M&A strategy driven by clinical, operational, and financial similarity would lead to different partners for each system. St Luke’s and Barnes Jewish data are sourced from FY2021 Cost Reports.