California Attorney General Settlement of Hospital Merger Challenge Potentially Raises the Stakes for Hospital Mergers Nationwide

A California Superior Court recently approved the settlement of a hospital merger challenge brought by the California Attorney General’s Office against Cedars-Sinai Health System and Huntington Hospital. The action – and subsequent settlement – is noteworthy for at least two reasons. First, unlike in most other health system merger challenges, the two merging systems in this matter were not direct competitors. Second, the merging parties agreed to a number of limitations on their conduct going forward – including price controls and the appointment of a “monitor” to oversee their compliance going forward – that are quite uncommon and restrictive. Read More ›