Penn State Health, PinnacleHealth say gov’t offers no proof to stop merger
FILE PHOTO: Courtesy Penn State Hershey Medical Center
(Harrisburg) — Two major health systems in the midstate that want to merge are offering their latest arguments in an ongoing court battle.
Penn State Health and PinnacleHealth argue the government’s case against the merger is weak.
Lawyers with the Federal Trade Commission and state Attorney General’s office are appealing a federal judge’s ruling that allowed the merger to proceed.
But the health systems say Judge John Jones III has it right.
They say the government assumes prices would go up, and doesn’t actually prove its case.
They write there’s an incentive to keep prices reasonable, saying if the new merged health system hiked prices 5 percent and some people chose other hospitals, they would actually lose money.
And they say that insurance companies could force them to bring down rates by threatening to keep them out of their network.
Finally, they argue merging will increase output for Penn State Hershey Medical Center and Harrisburg Hospital, since patients could be shifted between the two depending on capacity.
Oral arguments in the case are scheduled for the week of July 25th in Philadelphia. The appeal has drawn national attention in health care circles, especially in light of another federal judge’s recent decision to allow a merger in Chicago.
Penn State Health and PinnacleHealth arguments for merger
A collection of interviews, photos, and music videos, featuring local musicians who have stopped by the WITF performance studio to share a little discussion and sound. Produced by WITF’s Joe Ulrich.
