advertisement

Advocate, NorthShore drop plan to merge

After a two-year battle, Advocate Health Care and Northshore University HealthSystem are ending plans to merge following a federal judge's ruling Tuesday.

"We are deeply disappointed to inform you that Federal Judge Jorge Alonso has just issued his ruling in our merger case, and has done so in favor of the Federal Trade Commission," Northshore CEO Mark Neaman wrote in a message to employees obtained by the Daily Herald.

"We have determined with the Advocate Health Care leadership that the time, cost, and uncertainty of pursing any additional appeals would not be worthwhile," Neaman said.

Hospital leaders had said the merger would have helped expand access to health care, unify quality and lower overall cost of care for patients.

"We are disappointed, but not discouraged by the court's decision," Neaman said in the memo.

Downers Grove-based Advocate and Northshore, based in Evanston, first announced their intentions to merge in September 2014. After a 15-month review, the FTC opposed the merger in December 2015 setting the stage for federal court hearings since that time.

Meanwhile, the FTC has argued that consumers could face possible rising health care costs, while the system would have less incentive to upgrade services and improve quality.

The merger would have created an organization comprised of 16 hospitals with about 45,000 employees serving more than 3 million patients annually, making it the 11th largest not-for-profit health care system in the United States. The combined organization's board of directors was to be comprised of an equal number of members from both Advocate and Northshore; and the organizations were consolidating financial statements.

Advocate, Northshore merger means 16 hospitals, 3 million patients

FTC files appeal in Advocate-NorthShore merger

Advocate, NorthShore merger on hold

Advocate, NorthShore merger blocked

Advocate, Northshore drop plan to merge

Mark Neaman, president and CEO of Northshore University HealthSystem.
Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.