Source: http://www.justice.gov/atr/cases/f0400/0436.htm
Timestamp: 2014-12-22 17:26:04
Document Index: 768630820

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 18', '§ 1', '§ 25', '§ 4', '§ 18', '§ 1']

Complaint : U.S. v. Mercy Health Services and Finley Tri-States Health Group: Dubuque
EASTERN DIVISION UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, v. MERCY HEALTH SERVICES and FINLEY TRI-STATES HEALTH GROUP, INC., Defendant.
| Civil Action No. C94-1023 Plaintiff,
COMPLAINT FOR INJUNCTIVE RELIEF AGAINST COMBINATION IN VIOLATION OF SECTION 7 OF
THE CLAYTON ACT, 15 U.S.C.§ 18, AND SECTION 1 OF THE SHERMAN ACT, 15 U.S.C. § 1 Filed: VERIFIED COMPLAINT
(INJUNCTIVE RELIEF SOUGHT) The United States of America, acting under the direction of the Attorney General of the United States, brings this civil action to obtain equitable and other relief against the named defendants and alleges as follows: 1. The United States brings this suit to block the creation of an illegal monopoly through the proposed combination of the only two general acute care hospitals in Dubuque, Iowa -- Mercy Health Center ("Mercy") and the Finley Hospital ("Finley"). There are no other significant general acute care hospitals within a 70-mile driving distance of Dubuque. 2. Unless prevented, the combination of these two financially sound hospitals will eliminate competition and result in higher prices and lower quality for hospital services provided to health care consumers, particularly health insurance plans, employers, unions, and, ultimately, the citizens of the Dubuque area which comprises the City of Dubuque and its environs. The cost of this loss of competition to the Dubuque area dwarfs any possible short term cost savings that be can be achieved only through the combination, assuming that a hospital monopolist would choose to pass on any such savings to consumers. I.
JURISDICTION, VENUE AND DEFENDANTS 3. This action is filed under Section 15 of the Clayton Act, as amended, 15 U.S.C. § 25, and Section 4 of the Sherman Act, 15 U.S.C. § 4, to prevent and restrain the violation by defendants of Section 7 of the Clayton Act, as amended, 15 U.S.C. § 18, and Section 1 of the Sherman Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1. 4. Mercy Health Services, a Michigan corporation, and the Finley Tri-States Health Group, Inc. ("Tri-States") an Iowa corporation, both transact business, maintain offices and are found within the Northern District of Iowa. Mercy and Finley are operated, respectively, by the Sisters of Mercy Health Corp. ("SMHC") (a subsidiary of Mercy Health Services) and by Tri-States. Although the combination of Mercy and Finley, named the Dubuque Regional Health System, is formally structured as a partnership between Tri-States and SMHC, it is the equivalent of a merger of those hospitals for purposes of antitrust analysis. 5. The defendants are engaged in interstate commerce and in activities substantially affecting interstate commerce. In providing inpatient hospital services, both hospitals regularly receive substantial health care insurance reimbursement payments, shipments of equipment and supplies, and patients from outside of Iowa. II.
TRADE AND COMMERCE 6. General acute care hospitals provide a wide range of services in diagnosing and treating patients. They receive the bulk of their revenues from providing acute care inpatient hospital services, i.e., services provided for the diagnosis and treatment of patients who, because of the seriousness of their specific illness or general medical condition, require at least an overnight hospital stay. Acute care inpatient hospital