WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Trade Commission finalized an order requiring Ascension Health Alliance to sell seven ambulatory surgery centers as a condition of its proposed $3.9 billion acquisition of AmSurg LLC, addressing regulators’ concerns that the combination could raise prices and reduce competition for outpatient surgical care in five U.S. metropolitan markets.
The divestitures cover surgery centers in the Nashville, Tennessee; Panama City, Florida; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Waco, Texas; and Wichita, Kansas, areas.
Six of the facilities will be sold to SC Affiliates, while Florida Gastroenterology Center will acquire the seventh center in Panama City, according to the FTC.
The order resolves allegations that Ascension’s acquisition of AmSurg would reduce competition for certain outpatient procedures performed by gastroenterologists, ophthalmologists and orthopedists in the affected markets.
Regulators alleged that allowing Ascension to retain the centers could lead to higher surgery prices for patients while potentially reducing quality and limiting innovation in outpatient surgical services.
The divestiture requirement is intended to preserve independent competitors in markets where the FTC determined the transaction otherwise posed competitive risks.
The order also places additional restrictions on Ascension’s expansion in the affected areas. The health system must provide the FTC with advance notice before acquiring ambulatory surgery centers in the metropolitan areas surrounding the divested facilities.
That requirement gives federal regulators an opportunity to review certain future acquisitions in those markets rather than limiting oversight to the current AmSurg transaction.
The commission voted 2-0 to approve the final consent order following a public comment period.
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