KFF Health NewsNov 19 2024 The deal, if approved, would leave residents with a hospital monopoly.
"Monopoly should be just a board game. Not a healthcare system," a commenter listed as H. Osborne wrote to the state health agency. Union Health said its proposed deal would improve care and increase access to services while "maintaining cost efficiency" for patients. Related StoriesZack Cooper, a health economist and associate professor at Yale University, said the merger would probably damage the local economy and squeeze residents' wallets. Cooper's analysis estimates the price of care would rise by at least 10% for area residents and lead to 500 lost jobs, while nurses' pay would drop by at least 7%. His research predicts the deal also would lead to unnecessary deaths from suicide or overdose, stemming from those job losses.
The FTC pushed back, saying the oversight mechanism "would be insufficient to contain costs" and is a "poor substitute" for competition. Even though Union would face limits on raising prices in Vigo County, the FTC said, the system might be able to hike them elsewhere, including at its hospital in neighboring Vermillion County to the north.
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