Today PinnacleHealth System and Penn State Hershey announced they will fight efforts by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Pennsylvania Attorney General (AG) to prevent their organizations from joining together as part of Penn State Health.
Penn State Hershey and PinnacleHealth will file a joint response in federal court to the FTC and AG complaint seeking to block the proposed merger.
“The integration of the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and PinnacleHealth makes good sense for patients, employers and our community and we intend to prove it in federal court,” said Dr. A. Craig Hillemeier, dean of Penn State College of Medicine, CEO of Penn State Health and Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, and Penn State’s senior vice president for health affairs. “As one health system, we can better provide patients with the highest quality care, in the most appropriate setting at the lowest possible cost. Our integration also provides a powerful platform to produce future generations of health care providers and make discoveries that improve health.”
This new collaborative and innovative enterprise brings together a high-performing university medical center and a community health system known for its quality outcomes, low cost and patient-focused care.
“We firmly believe that the combination of our two health systems is the right thing to do, and we are committed to seeing it through. Our efforts are about the big picture to serve the best interests of the region for the long term,” said Michael A. Young, president and CEO of PinnacleHealth. “We could not be more pleased with the support we’ve received from the community, payors and business leaders, and I believe they are behind us because they know we want to merge for the right reasons.”
The joining of PinnacleHealth and Penn State Hershey into one health system creates the depth of services, health care access and scale required to manage and improve the health of distinct populations of patients, which is completely consistent with the goals of the Affordable Care Act.
The affiliation also will ensure that local, volunteer boards continue to govern the premiere health care organizations in the Harrisburg region for the foreseeable future. Representatives of PinnacleHealth and representatives of Penn State Hershey and Penn State University will make up half the initial Penn State Health Board membership.
The FTC and AG originally announced plans to contest the merger on Tuesday, Dec. 8. On Wednesday, Dec. 9 -- by agreement of all parties -- a federal judge issued a restraining order that temporarily blocks the merger of PinnacleHealth System and Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. Next, a preliminary injunction hearing will be held in federal court, where the judge will hear and rule on the case.