Novant Health‘s attempt to purchase Davis Regional Medical Center and Lake Norman Regional Center has been blocked.
The $320 million acquisition from Community Health Systems Inc. was halted, a Novant spokesperson confirmed Tuesday afternoon.
NC State Treasurer Dale Folwell issued a statement about the decision today, saying “I applaud the Federal Trade Commission for doing its job to protect the consumers of health care in the Lake Norman area. North Carolina has the highest hospital costs in the country and Novant’s proposed purchase of two Lake Norman hospitals would have made the matter worse. High medical and pharmaceutical costs are pushing the State Health Plan (Plan) to the brink of insolvency. Requests for additional funding from the legislature have gone unanswered with the Plan expected to fall below minimal reserves as early as 2025. It is now time for hospital executives, their boards, North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein, and the North Carolina General Assembly to do their jobs. Hospitals need to put patients over profits and AG Stein needs to protect consumers from the hospital cartel. These mergers aren’t democrat or republican, they are immoral.”
This announcement follows U.S. District Court Judge Kenneth Bell’s decision nearly three weeks ago to thwart the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) effort to block the sale. The FTC recently appealed Judge Bell’s ruling, arguing that the acquisition would give Novant an unfair competitive advantage in the Lake Norman area.
Novant claimed the acquisition would save the hospitals, citing Community Health Systems’ significant staff and service reductions at Davis Regional, which is losing $1 million per month operating as a behavioral hospital. Davis Regional’s transition to a behavioral health facility forced Iredell Health System to absorb increased patient volume.
In response, Iredell Health System opened a new Urgent Care in Statesville and expanded the Emergency Department and Critical Care Unit at Iredell Memorial Hospital.
