Pillar 02
FTC Authority · Noncompete Rule · Market Concentration
ModerateFAH frames hospital consolidation as a natural, positive evolution and opposes expanded FTC antitrust authority over hospital mergers.
FAH’s dedicated Hospital Integration issue page argues that consolidation keeps hospitals open, preserves patient access, and represents an appropriate response to substantial public sector funding reductions.
In July 2024, FAH and AHA jointly filed an amicus brief urging a federal court to block the FTC noncompete rule. The court agreed.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| February 22, 2023 | FAH submitted comments to FTC (docket FTC-2023-0007-21034) opposing the proposed noncompete ban. Kahn called it a “double whammy” creating an “unlevel playing field” between for-profit and tax-exempt hospitals. |
| July 2024 | AHA and FAH jointly filed amicus brief in Ryan LLC v. FTC (N.D. Tex., Civil Action No. 3:24-cv-00986-E) urging vacatur. |
| August 20, 2024 | Judge Ada Brown issued nationwide injunction blocking the FTC noncompete rule. |
| September 2025 | FTC under Chair Andrew Ferguson voted 3-1 to dismiss its appeals. |
In May 2023, FAH joined AHA, America’s Essential Hospitals, AAMC, Children’s Hospital Association, and Louisiana Hospital Association in a coalition letter urging the FTC to abandon its challenge to a state-approved hospital merger in Louisiana, arguing the action “disregards Supreme Court precedent.”
According to AMA data, nearly 80% of U.S. metropolitan hospital markets are now highly concentrated. Hospital mergers have been found to increase average hospital prices by 6–18% nationally.