Federal Trade Commission Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Feds Drop Challenge to West Virginia Hospital Takeover

Federal regulators have dropped a challenge to a West Virginia hospital’s planned takeover of a nearby hospital.

The Federal Trade Commission announced Wednesday it has dismissed its antitrust challenge to Cabell Huntington Hospital Inc.’s proposed takeover of St. Mary’s Medical Center in Huntington.

In November 2014, Cabell Huntington agreed to assume control of St. Mary’s after the Pallottine Missionary Sisters ended their sponsorship of the hospital after 90 years.

Last year the FTC said the takeover would likely lead to higher costs to patients and lower quality of care. But the FTC Wednesday noted state lawmakers this year passed a law exempting the merger from state and federal antitrust laws if the West Virginia Health Care Authority approved the merger. The authority approved it last month.

Legislators Defend Cabell-Huntington St. Mary's Merger

Cabell Huntington Hospital wants to buy St. Mary’s Medical Center. The Herald-Dispatch reports that the West Virginia Health Care Authority has granted a certificate of need, meaning the authority deems the combination of the two Huntington hospitals is needed and consistent with the state’s health care goals.
The two hospitals separately are the largest employers in Huntington, with nearly 5,000 employees between them. They are also each among the top ten largest employers in the state.

But the Federal Trade Commission has blocked the acquisition, citing concerns that the merger would create a medical monopoly, raising prices and lowering care quality.

West Virginia lawmakers disagree, saying the merger benefits West Virginians. They’ve passed legislation aimed at bringing consumer regulation back into state hands. That bill now sits on Governor Tomblin’s desk. Appalachia Health News’ Kara Lofton sat down with Senator Robert Plymale and Brian Gallagher, counsel for Marshall Health, to discuss what the merger might mean for West Virginia.

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, with support from the Benedum Foundation.

Federal Agency Opposes West Virginia Hospital Takeover

Federal regulators say a Huntington hospital’s planned takeover of another hospital would likely lead to higher costs to patients and lower quality of care.

The Federal Trade Commission announced a challenge Friday to Cabell Huntington Hospital Inc.’s proposed takeover of St. Mary’s Medical Center in Huntington.

In November 2014, Cabell Huntington agreed to assume control of St. Mary’s after the Pallottine Missionary Sisters ended their sponsorship of the hospital after 90 years.

St. Mary’s has 393 beds and Cabell Huntington has 303 beds. They are the top two private employers in Cabell County. The combined operation would represent the second-largest hospital chain in the state behind Charleston Area Medical Center.

In July, Attorney General Patrick Morrisey said St. Mary’s would operate as a stand-alone facility after the takeover.

Tips to Protect Against Identity Fraud

The security breaches that led to issues with credit cards used at some major retailers has brought attention to the problem of identity theft.

Shepherd University recently held an open workshop for students on how prevent becoming just another statistic.

Students were quizzed on their knowledge at the beginning of the workshop and then again after the workshop to see what they had learned.

During the workshop, BB&T Spokesman Robert Hennen gave several tips to protect against identity theft and fraud, such as:

Don’t walk away from the computer or phone before logging out of the online banking site/app
Review credit card statements often
Go paperless with banking statements
Shred documents with personal information
Always make purchases from a reputable company
Before entering a credit card number, look for an unbroken key or padlock symbol to ensure it is a secure site

In addition, BB&T Spokeswoman Allena Johnson Shingleton also said another way to protect against identity theft is to make up answers to challenge questions, like putting a false mother’s maiden name.
“Never tell the truth; those companies don’t care what you put in the challenge questions, all they care is that you can answer it,” said Shingleton.

For example, Shingleton talked about the effects of having a Facebook account. While a mother’s maiden name might not be that important to us right now, because it is listed on Facebook, in the future it will be.

Students should be asking themselves, “If I’m willing to share this, how can I mitigate that risk?”

“Criminals are looking for pieces that connect,” said Shingleton.

With social media sites listing user information such as favorite movies and books, it makes it much easier for criminals to guess security questions if the right answers are provided.

In addition to these steps to protect against identity theft, spokesman Hennen said to always get a copy of a yearly credit report.

According to Shingleton, the statistics are staggering if precautions aren’t taken to protect against identity fraud. One identity is stolen every three seconds. Moreover, the majority of information is stolen from documents in mailboxes, wallets and the trash.

The average victim can expect to spend at least 21 hours and $600 clearing their good name.

A report released by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in 2010 said West Virginia had nearly 5,000 complaints of combined fraud and identity theft. Three of the biggest fraud types were credit card fraud, phone and utilities fraud and government documents or benefits fraud.

Editor’s note: Chelsea DeMello is an intern from Shepherd University and editor of the student newspaper The Picket.