An Indiana hospital merger was approved despite opposition from the Federal Trade Commission and the state’s attorney general.
Here are three M&A moves that Becker’s reported on during the week of Nov. 10:
1. Farmington, Conn.-based UConn Health submitted a $13 million bid to take over Waterbury (Conn.) Hospital, part of Los Angeles-based Prospect Medical Holdings.
Prospect Medical owned three Connecticut hospitals, including Waterbury, and has been working to offload facilities across its portfolio since it sought Chapter 11 protection in January.
In late October, Hartford (Conn.) HealthCare secured the bid for Prospect Medical’s Manchester Memorial Hospital and Rockville General Hospital in Vernon, Conn., for $86.1 million after no other bidders submitted proposals before the Oct. 17 deadline.
2. The planned partnership between Aurora, Colo.-based UCHealth and Estes Park (Colo.) Health was finalized after the Larimer County board of commissioners signed off on Park Hospital District’s amended service plan to move it forward.
Under the partnership, UCHealth will assume $10 million in Estes Park Health’s long-term debt, and will dedicate at least $20 million in routine maintenance and capital projects to the facility over 10 years.
Estes Park Health and its employees will join UCHealth Dec. 1.
3. The Indiana Department of Health on Nov. 9 approved a certificate of public advantage for a merger between Terre Haute-based Union Hospital and Terre Haute Regional Hospital, part of Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare.
The approval allows the two hospitals to proceed with the merger application filed in February. Union Health will acquire substantially all assets of Terre Haute Regional, and the merged enterprise will be regulated under the state’s COPA framework. The Federal Trade Commission and Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita both formally opposed the transaction, citing concerns it would result in a regional monopoly for inpatient acute care services, limit patient choice, increase healthcare costs and suppress wages.
The deal is the last to be considered under Indiana’s COPA statute. State Sen. Ed Charbonneau, an architect of the 2021 law, introduced legislation this year that prohibits further COPA submissions. The legislation was passed and signed into law by Gov. Mike Braun. Mr. Charbonneau said in January that he was seeking to repeal the law because of concerns about its effect on competition and patient care.
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