Publications/Details

Health Law Checkup - Integrated Health in Limbo After U.S. District Court Decision

05/12/2014

by Raphael J. Avraham

In January, a U.S. District Court judge for the District of Idaho ordered St. Luke’s Health System Ltd. (St. Luke’s) to unwind a recent acquisition of a physician group because the deal violated federal and state antitrust laws. St. Luke’s claimed objective in acquiring Saltzer Medical Group (Saltzer) was to address the many problems—principally, the extraordinary cost of the fee-for-service reimbursement system—in the Nampa, Idaho healthcare market; however, the court found that the acquisition would ultimately lead to higher healthcare costs and a reduction in healthcare options.

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