Nurses Call on FTC to Investigate Piedmont Healthcare Acquisition

“There’s no antitrust impact at all,” Davis continued. Davis told The Augusta Chronicle that the deal will likely be ready for review by the Georgia attorney general’s office by the end of August.

NNU said that Piedmont’s HCA Healthcare acquisitions would give Piedmont a 25 percent market share in Atlanta, “raising red flags for the market concentration index established by the FTC and Department of Justice horizontal merger guidelines.”

In the Augusta area, Piedmont will obtain 49 percent of the market share, and two of the HCA hospitals will also give Piedmont 17 percent of the market share in Macon.  

NNU cited rising hospital prices as a major reason for concern. With a significant market share, Piedmont would have the ability to hike up prices without competition. High hospital prices can lead to adverse patient outcomes and a reluctance to receive medical care for fear of incurring medical debt.

“Let’s not put Georgians at risk from reducing access to hospital care or making the costs even more prohibitive without a full review of this increased monopoly of vital hospital services,” explained Irma Westmoreland, RN, NNU vice president.

A recent Kaufman Hall report showed that healthcare merger and acquisition (M&A) activity was minimal in Q2, but total transacted revenue rose, with 14 transactions yielding $8.5 billion in revenue. The report identified Piedmont’s acquisition of four HCA hospitals and its merger with University Health Care System as some of the most significant M&A deals of Q2.