A federal appeals court has reversed a lower court ruling and ordered a preliminary injunction against the proposed Penn State Hershey Medical Center-PinnacleHealth System system merger.
The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia voted in favor of the injunction, which reversed a May decision by a federal judge, saying the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and Pennsylvania officials would likely be successful in showing the merger could cause price hikes for patients and would harm competition, according to the decision.
The injunction will allow the FTC to further review the proposed merger, would mean the combined system would garner support 76 percent of the population around Harrisburg.
HENRY KOTULA 