Heighten federal–state scrutiny of hospital and supermarket mergers
In discussing state AG cooperation, Mandate specifically flags hospital mergers and supermarket mergers (alongside Big Tech) as key sectors for coordinated enforcement policy.
Mandate
Mandate Ch. 30 (FTC) — Antitrust Enforcement: inviting state AGs to Washington to discuss enforcement policy in key sectors under FTC jurisdiction: Big Tech, hospital mergers, supermarket mergers, and so forth.
Undo plan
1) Keep hospital/retail merger guidelines evidence-based on local market definition and price/quality effects.
2) Avoid politicized sector slogans without HHI/entry analysis.
3) Share data with state AGs under confidentiality protocols.
4) Conduct merger retrospectives on hospital systems and grocery consolidation.
5) Verify: challenged deals’ local share evidence; post-merger price studies.