Becker’s Hospital Review Quotes Haidee Schwartz on FTC and Merger Filings

Akin Gump antitrust partner Haidee Schwartzwas quoted by Becker's Hospital Review for its article "FTC's merger filing influx: What healthcare execs should know," on the impact that an unprecedented number of merger filings is having on the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) ability to handle its workload.

Schwartz, who served as FTC Acting Deputy Director, Bureau of Competition, noted, regarding FY 2021's 3,500 merger filings before the FTC, "Not in any of the modern times have you seen filings that high." She added, however, that merger reviews are taking longer for reasons besides the surge in merger filings, including the Biden-Harris administration's focus on vigorous enforcement of antitrust laws.

Regarding the health care industry, where, according to the article, President Biden's July 2021 executive order on competition called on antitrust departments to limit harm to patients by reviewing and revising their guidelines on hospital mergers, Schwartz said, "Healthcare and hospital systems have to expect that the agency will look at theories of harm they haven't previously pursued. In the past, hospital merger reviews were very much focused on, 'Are they overlapping and competing in geographic areas?' Now, even if there's not a direct geographic overlap, they are looking at other things."

The article also features her views on the implications for the FTC of the rise in merger filings, other FTC changes of note, and six tips for merging entities as they prepare to file with the FTC.

To read the full article, click here.