Problems linking HMOs may be stalling Ill. deal.

Modern Healthcare, April, 1998 by Japsen, Bruce

Efforts to meld their two unprofitable HMOs into one plan may be slowing down a merger between two of the three hospitals in Rockford, Ill.

The Rockford hospitals are 296-bed SwedishAmerican Hospital and 210-bed Saint Anthony Medical Center. The city's third hospital is 408-bed Rockford Memorial Hospital, which also runs a money-losing HMO.

Last April, SwedishAmerican announced plans to merge into OSF Healthcare System, the Peoria, Ill.-based parent of Saint Anthony. OSF operates six others hospitals in Illinois and one in Michigan.

The deal would give the two hospitals control of more than half the Rockford hospital market, and their proposed merger drew a brief antitrust investigation from the U.S. Justice Department. Several years ago,...

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