In its appeal, Hackensack and Englewood say the district court found the merger would improve quality, facilities and service, and that the FTC’s case depends on “hospitals being able to price discriminate against patients who live in Bergen County, New Jersey, something hospitals concede they do not and cannot do in their negotiations with health insurers,” according to MedCity News.

They also argue that while the FTC provided “direct evidence” that was recognized by the district court as showing that the merger would likely lead to an anti-competitive price increase, this was based on a study about the willingness of patients to pay after mergers in other states and was not based on what insurers agreed to pay, therefore showing “no likelihood of increased prices.”


News earlier this month that the Justice Department was considering pursuing litigation to stop another acquisition, the UnitedHealth-Change deal, due to the impact it could have on competition, led both healthcare organizations in that case to try and save it by signing a timing agreement with the DOJ. Under it, they agreed not to complete the merger for 120 days after they have complied with a request for information for further review of the potential deal.

The Hackensack Meridian-Englewood case has been turned over to a panel of judges of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia.

The FTC did not have a comment on the notice for appeal, reported NorthJersey.com.

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