The move comes after Union Health withdrew its previous COPA application in November — just nine days before the state was set to make a final decision on the transaction. Union Health said at the time it planned to resubmit an application.
“The purpose of the merger is to improve the health and wellness of all Wabash Valley citizens,” Union Health said in a Feb. 11 news release. “Our heightened focus on the health of our community will incorporate improved access to care, health outcome initiatives and continued emphasis on the quality of care.”
The move to withdraw the previous application — initially filed in September 2023 — came amid community backlash and federal scrutiny around the potential antitrust concerns that the transaction could create in the area. The Federal Trade Commission in September advised the Indiana Department of Health against approving the deal, arguing that it would “likely impose higher costs and could lead to worse healthcare outcomes for Indiana patients, as well as lower wage growth for hospital workers.”
The FTC told Indiana regulators COPAs are “unwieldy,” “difficult to manage” and “have failed to protect local communities from the harmful effects of anticompetitive hospital mergers.”
Under Indiana’s COPA law, the health department can issue a certificate “only if it finds that there is clear evidence that the proposed merger would improve the health outcomes, healthcare access, and the quality of healthcare provided to the population currently served by the hospitals, and those benefits must outweigh any potential disadvantages that result from the proposed merger.”
Indiana state Sen. Ed Charbonneau, who was a primary author of the state’s 2021 bill enabling COPAs, introduced legislation in January to repeal the law, citing concerns about its effect on competition and patient care.
In the release, Union Health said the benefits of the proposed merger include increased coordination of care and physician specialization, expanded population health initiatives, and local multimillion-dollar investments in technology.