Chris Raphaely, co-chair of Cozen O’Connor’s Health Care Practice Group, discusses a recent decision by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. The decision upholds the right of federal regulators to halt a large health care merger in the Harrisburg, Pa., area. Chris says, “This is a reminder of what the FTC and the Department of Justice have been saying all along; while they make allowances for this type of activity and it is encouraged under the Affordable Care Act,” traditional antitrust principles still apply.  The decision reaffirms the authority of the FTC to weigh in on health care mergers at a time when hospitals are under pressure to combine operations and increase efficiencies as a consequence of the Affordable Care Act.

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