St. Louis-based Ascension has received Federal Trade Commission approval to move forward with its planned acquisition of AmSurg — an ambulatory surgery center operator with more than 250 facilities across 34 states — but only after agreeing to divest seven ASCs that the agency said posed competitive concerns.
The FTC announced June 2 that Ascension must sell seven AmSurg facilities in four states as a condition of completing the $3.9 billion deal. Regulators alleged the deal would reduce competition for certain outpatient gastroenterology, ophthalmology and orthopedic procedures and could lead to higher prices, lower quality and less innovation.
“The FTC’s action ordering divestitures of surgical care centers will help preserve a competitive market that will allow patients to get the care they need at a fair price,” Daniel Guarnera, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition, said in a June 2 news release.
Under the proposed consent order, six ASCs will be divested to SC Affiliates, another national ASC operator. They include:
- Two endoscopy centers in Nashville, Tenn.
- Two surgery centers in Tulsa, Okla.,
- One gastroenterology center in Waco, Texas
- One orthopedic surgery center in Wichita, Kan.
A seventh facility in Panama City, Fla., will be sold to WRCC Gastro, a physician group that already holds a minority ownership stake in the surgery center.
The FTC’s order also requires Ascension, AmSurg and parent company Ambulatory Topco to provide transition support for up to one year, maintain the viability of the divested assets until the transactions close and avoid interfering with employee relationships at the facilities. A monitor will oversee compliance with the divestiture requirements.
Ascension will also be required to provide the FTC with advance notice of any future ASC acquisitions in the affected metropolitan areas for the next 10 years.
“Ascension is pleased to share that we have received approval from the Federal Trade Commission to move forward with our acquisition of AmSurg’s ambulatory surgery center business,” the health system said in a June 2 statement. “This regulatory milestone is a significant step toward our expected official closing in the near future.”
The FTC vote to issue the complaint and accept the consent agreement for public comment was 2-0. The agreement will be subject to a 30-day public comment period before becoming final.
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