Boise-based Saint Alphonsus Health System and Treasure Valley Hospital filed suit roughly three weeks ago. The plaintiffs claimed St. Luke’s acquisition of Saltzer Medical Group in Nampa, Idaho, will leave the hospital system with control of more than two-thirds of the area’s primary care physicians.
St. Luke’s said its goal of creating a better system “is perceived as a threat by market participants who are comfortable with the status quo,” according to the report. The system also said its acquisition is critical to its strategy of offering risk-based arrangements to health insurers.
The hospital system said it is unlikely Saltzer will survive if it is not acquired. In the past several weeks, several Saltzer surgeons left the group to join St. Alphonsus, according to the report. The exodus has left Saltzer with $2 million in overhead expenses.
The lawsuit coincides with antitrust investigations by the Idaho Attorney General’s office and the Federal Trade Commission to determine if St. Luke’s acquisition violates the Idaho Competition Act.
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