FTC’s Challenge to the Advocate-NorthShore Merger: Antitrust Perspectives from the FTC, Advocate, and Antitrust Counsel

Washington, D.C., partner Ken Vorrasi presented on a panel at the Illinois Association of Healthcare Attorneys Annual Health Law Symposium on November 2, 2017, along with Sean Pugh, Counsel to the Director, Bureau of Competition, Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Eric Tower, VP & Associate General Counsel, Advocate Health Care.

The panel, titled “Antitrust Perspectives of an Affiliation – FTC’s Challenge to the Advocate-NorthShore Merger,” discussed the proposed affiliation between Advocate Health Care and Chicago’s NorthShore University HealthSystem, as well as the FTC’s litigation that ultimately led to the termination of the proposed merger. The panelists discussed affiliation in an urban market, including market definition and the treatment of academic medical centers in the geographic market, the viability of efficiency arguments, and recognizing the introduction of a new product.

For more information, please visit the IAHA website.