On June 14, 2016, Illinois federal judge Jorge L. Alonso denied the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and state regulators’ efforts to block the merger of Advocate Health Care (Advocate) and NorthShore University Health System (NorthShore).  On June 17, 2016, however, Judge Alonso granted the FTC’s motion to enjoining the proposed merger – Advocate and NorthShore could have consummated the merger three days following the FTC’s loss – pending its emergency appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. The district court’s decision was a significant blow for the FTC and comes only a month after the FTC lost another hospital merger challenge in Pennsylvania (though that decision is pending appeal) after more than a decade of the FTC’s successfully litigating hospital merger challenges.

Although Judge Alonso’s opinion on the merits has not yet been released, and he stated that there would be no written opinion regarding the court’s granting the FTC’s stay pending appeal, Advocate and NorthShore have said that the geographic market the FTC alleged in the Chicago suburbs was inaccurate, as it did not take into account how people actually get their health care.

Materials related to the litigation are available by clicking here.

Reporter, John D. Carroll, Washington, D.C., + 1 202 626 2993, jdcarroll@kslaw.com.