Ascension Health and HCA Midwest Health System have ended talks to sell Ascension Health's Carondelet Health Kansas City, Mo., area hospitals to HCA, saying in a Jan. 31 statement it had become clear the proposed deal was not going to get timely approval from the Federal Trade Commission.
In May 2013, Carondelet Health, a ministry of Ascension Health, and HCA Midwest Health announced plans for Carondelet Health to sell St. Joseph Medical Center in Kansas City, St. Mary's Medical Center in nearby Blue Springs, Mo., and several other subsidiaries to HCA Midwest.
The systems had worked since then to conclude the transaction, including regulatory review from the FTC. Ascension issued a statement saying, "Unfortunately, after a lengthy FTC review process, it has become clear that a timely, supportive decision from the FTC will not be forthcoming. As a result, Ascension Health and HCA Midwest have discontinued plans for the sale." The FTC declined comment.
The statement from the health systems appears to signal that FTC antitrust concerns may have come into play. HCA Midwest Health System is already the Kansas City area's largest health care provider, consisting of seven hospitals, outpatient centers, clinics, physician practices and surgery centers.
Carondelet Health includes two acute care hospitals, St. Joseph and St. Mary's Medical Centers, with 450 beds and 900 physicians on staff combined.
Copyright © 2014 by the Catholic Health Association
of the United States
For reprint permission, contact Betty Crosby
or call (314) 253-3477.