SAN ANGELO, Texas — The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has submitted a comment to the Texas Health and Human Services Commission saying it opposes the possible merger of Shannon Medical Center and San Angelo Community Medical Center, as well as the possible merger of Hendrick and Abilene Regional hospitals.
Staff of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition, Bureau of Economics, and Office of Policy Planning expressed concern that the proposed merger of Hendrick and Abilene Regional would lead to significantly less competition for healthcare services in Midwest Texas.
According to the staff comment, the proposed merger “presents a substantial risk of serious competitive and consumer harm in the form of higher healthcare costs, lower quality, reduced innovation, and reduced access to care."
The president and CEO of Shannon Medical Center, Shane Plymell, released the following statement:
"As a community-owned and led health system with an 85+ year history of serving West Texas, Shannon is acting upon on a once-in-a-generation opportunity to combine the strength and expertise of our community’s hospitals and reinvest cost savings to preserve and expand access to much-needed healthcare services. The Texas legislature passed the COPA law specifically to enable healthcare decisions to be made at the local level. We believe San Angelo and the state of Texas know best how to deliver quality healthcare to our rural community and are confident the state will review our application with that in mind. The FTC’s commentary on the acquisition does not change our enthusiasm for what our two organizations can do together to ensure West Texans have access to the highest quality healthcare for generations to come. The potential combination of our two hospitals has received broad and enthusiastic community support, and we are confident the COPA we submitted to the State outlines the benefits the acquisition will provide to the community."
Brad Holland, the president and CEO of Hendrick Health System, also released a statement:
"The FTC's public comment to the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) regarding the proposed COPA submitted by Hendrick Health System is unsurprising given the FTC's consistent opposition to COPAs. As Texas continues to lead the nation in hospital closures, Texas state legislators' intent was clear through their overwhelming support of the recently passed legislation: COPAs provide the best path for Texans to preserve healthcare in designated communities, while also improving quality, access and cost efficiencies. Texans looked for a Texas solution. We have faith in the HHSC's expertise to provide ongoing oversight and look forward to demonstrating improved quality, access and cost benefits for our patients. Additionally, our community and its leaders have publicly shown their support of our COPA submission. We are confident in our path to partner with HHSC and working with state and federal regulatory agencies to provide local healthcare in our region of Texas."
The Commission vote to submit the staff comment to the Texas Health and Human Services Commission was 3-0-2. More information will be released as it becomes available.