The Federal Trade Commission on Monday issued its final order laying out the guidelines Illinois-based Evanston Northwestern Healthcare Corp. must follow as a result of the FTC’s finding that the system violated antitrust rules when it acquired Highland Park Hospital.
The order closes the agency’s antitrust case against ENH.
The FTC last summer upheld an administrative law judge’s 2005 ruling that found the acquisition violated federal antitrust laws, but it did not order Evanston to sell Highland Park. Instead, the FTC ordered the system to take certain steps to restore competition.
The commission ordered Evanston Northwestern to establish separate, independent negotiating teams to allow managed care organizations to negotiate separately again with the hospitals in an effort for competition between the hospitals to inject competition on pricing.
But the FTC at the time noted that it lacked sufficiently detailed information about ENH’s contract negotiations to craft a precise order and asked the health system to submit a detailed proposal to implement the commission’s order.
The final order, released Monday, requires ENH, at the request of a payor, to submit disputes as to prices and-or terms obtained by a payor as a result of the separate negotiations, firs, to mediation and, if that is not successful, to binding arbitration. The order also requires provider to notify the FTC of any proposed acquisitions or mergers in the region for the next decade. The system is in talks to merge with Rush North Shore Medical Center in Skokie.
ENH’s flagship hospital is in Evanston, directly north of Chicago. Its Glenbrook Hospital and Highland Park Hospital are located in nearby suburbs. ENH acquired Highland Park Hospital eight years ago. The system’s $600 million of debt is rated n the mid-to-high double-A category.
