Just two weeks ago, attorney general Kathleen Kane joined the Federal Trade Commission’s effort to block Penn State Hershey’s proposed merger with PinnacleHealth System.
The two largest health care providers in the greater Harrisburg area announced Thursday that they will fight that opposition in court.
Penn State Hershey and PinnacleHealth said in a press release that they will file a joint response in federal court to the FTC’s and Kane’s complaint.
The complaint asked the federal court for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction, preventing the merger passed by the Penn State board in March from going through until the court rules. The complaint alleged that the merger of these two health giants would be detrimental to patients in the region.
“We have learned the hard way in Pittsburgh what happens when a health system has a large market share,” Kane said in a press release. “The continued competition between Pinnacle and Hershey will ensure that the greater Harrisburg area will continue to have a vibrant and competitive health care market.”
In their press release, CEO of Penn State Health Dr. A. Craig Hillemeier argued that the merger would be beneficial for patients.
“The integration of the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and PinnacleHealth makes good sense for patients, employers, and our community and we intend to prove it in federal court,” he said. “As one health system, we can better provide patients with the highest quality care, in the most appropriate setting at the lowest possible cost. Our integration also provides a powerful platform to produce future generations of health care providers and make discoveries that improve health.”
PinnacleHealth CEO and present Michael A. Young offered a similar opinion to Hillemeier, stating that the merger serves the best interests of the greater Harrisburg region’s patients.
“We firmly believe that the combination of our two health systems is the right thing to do, and we are committed to seeing it through. Our efforts are about the big picture to serve the best interests of the region for the long term,” Young said. “We could not be more pleased with the support we’ve received from the community, payors and business leaders, and I believe they are behind us because they know we want to merge for the right reasons.”
The press release argues that the combined health system would provide patients with a greater depth of service, better health care access, and the needed scale to improve the health of distinct populations of patients.
“The affiliation also will ensure that local, volunteer boards continue to govern the premiere health care organizations in the Harrisburg region for the foreseeable future,” the release said. “Representatives of PinnacleHealth and representatives of Penn State Hershey and Penn State University will make up half of the initial Penn State Health Board membership.”
