The Only Hospital in Town

Two Indiana hospital rivals withdrew their application to merge after facing pushback from the Federal Trade Commission and the public.

Hundreds of people and the Federal Trade Commission weighed in on a proposed hospital merger in Terre Haute, Indiana, with most arguing that the creation of a monopoly would increase costs and worsen patient care.

Ballad Health, a 20-hospital system with the nation’s largest state-sanctioned hospital monopoly, serves patients in Tennessee, Virginia, Kentucky, and North Carolina.

If Indiana officials approve a proposed hospital merger in western Indiana in the coming months, the state will have its first hospital monopoly created by a “Certificate of Public Advantage.” Other such deals have resulted in government reports documenting diminished care in Tennessee and North Carolina.

Ballad Health, a 20-hospital system in Tennessee and Virginia, benefits from the largest state-sanctioned hospital monopoly in the United States and is the only option for hospital care for a large swath of Appalachia.