Sioux Falls, S.D.-based Sanford Health and Bismarck, S.D.-based Mid Dakota Clinic said they will abandon plans to merge if their appeal of a lower court's ruling is not successful, according to the Grand Forks Herald.
A U.S. District Court previously sided with the Federal Trade Commission and the North Dakota Attorney General's Office and granted an injunction against Sanford and Mid Dakota Clinic, halting their proposed merger. The judge agreed with the FTC and attorney general's office's arguments that the merger may violate antitrust laws if it proceeds prior to receiving a final FTC determination, according to the report.
The healthcare organizations' appeal was screened for oral arguments at the end of March. The earliest date the arguments may be heard is between May 14 and May 18, a Sanford Health spokesperson told the Grand Forks Herald.
Sanford and Mid Dakota Clinic have argued the leverage maintained by the state's largest insurance network, Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota, would prevent the merged company from having a monopoly in the area.
If the healthcare organizations are granted an appeal nullifying the injunction, the case would still face the hurdle of an FTC administrative law court hearing, which would be scheduled to take place 21 days after the appeals court issues its decision.
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