A tale of two COPAs ;Merged hospitals clear antitrust hurdles, but that's where the similarities end.(Palmetto Health Alliance and Mission St. Joseph's Health System)(Brief Article)

Modern Healthcare, January, 2000 by Kirchheimer, Barbara

Getting state antitrust clearance to partner with another hospital is one thing. What you do after you become the dominant acute-care provider in your market is another.

Last year, Palmetto Health Alliance in Columbia, S.C., lost $23 million. About 158 miles away, Mission St. Joseph's Health System in Asheville, N.C., made nearly $23 million.

Both systems came into being through hospital mergers in recent years, and both, in the face of antitrust questions, opted to obtain so-called certificates of public advantage, or COPAs, from their states to do so.

As part of their COPA agreements, both have had to comply with a laundry list of state requirements and report to their respective states annually. In return, both have been granted immunity...

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