Saint Alphonsus Medical Center v. St. Luke’s Health System (Ninth Circuit)

Section 7 of the Clayton Act prohibits a merger when its effect “may be substantially to lessen competition, or to tend to create a monopoly.” This case involved a Clayton Act challenge to the merger of St. Luke’s hospital and the largest independent, multi-specialty physician group in Nampa, Idaho. We argued, on behalf of the Association of Independent Doctors as amicus curiae, that the merger would increase the cost and reduce the quality of health care in Nampa by giving St. Luke’s control of 80% of the market for primary care services and limiting the ability of physicians in the acquired medical practice to refer patients outside St. Luke’s. The Ninth Circuit agreed and affirmed the district court’s finding of a Clayton Act violation and its order requiring divestiture.