Federal Trade Commission and Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Penn State Hershey Medical Center and Pinnacle Health System

Date Filed: December 9, 2015
Status: Decided
District Court: Middle District of Pennsylvania – Case No. 1:15–cv–2362
Appellate Court: 3rd Circuit Case No. 16–2365
Nature of Suit: Healthcare Consolidation
Defendant Type: Provider
Plaintiff Type: Federal, State
Case Info: https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/cases-proceedings/141-0191-d09368/penn-state-hershey-medical-center-ftc-commonwealth

On September 27, 2016, the FTC won its appeal to temporarily block the merger of the two largest hospital systems in the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, area. In a 3-0 decision, the Third Circuit granted a preliminary injunction, concluding that the FTC had demonstrated the merger would likely be anti-competitive. Following the Third Circuit’s decision, Penn State and Pinnacle abandoned their proposed merger efforts. The decision reversed a federal district court in Pennsylvania, which had rejected the FTC’s request for an injunction in May 2016. The district court had ruled that the FTC had made an insufficient showing that the deal would harm competition. Read more about the case in our blog post.


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