Jan. 05--The CEO of NorthShore University HealthSystem accused the Federal Trade Commission of gerrymandering boundaries of the hospital system's competitive geographic market to challenge its merger with Advocate Health Care.
In a meeting with the Tribune's editorial board Tuesday, Mark Neaman said the FTC is only looking at a small slice of the Chicago area's health care market for purposes of analyzing the competitive effects of Advocate's pending combination with NorthShore. He said the combined entity would compete with hospitals throughout the region, not just in northern Cook and southern Lake counties, as the FTC alleged in a complaint filed last month.
An FTC spokeswoman said the agency doesn't comment on pending litigation.
The FTC is challenging the proposed combination on antitrust grounds, alleging that the merger would reduce competition and raise prices for consumers. Advocate is already the largest hospital chain in Illinois, with 11 hospitals and a two-campus children's hospital. Five of its hospitals are in Cook, and two are in Lake. NorthShore has four hospitals in Evanston, Skokie, Glenview and Highland Park.
The dispute could drag on for months, but the hospital chains said they remain committed to the merger and will oppose the FTC's attempt to stop the deal. One of the biggest differences of opinion is over the definition of the geographic market.
