Cabell Huntington Hospital exterior
CHARLESTON — A new bill in the West Virginia Legislature would block Cabell Huntington Hospital and its proposed purchase of St. Mary’s Medical Center from Federal Trade Commission scrutiny by exempting the nonprofit hospital from state and federal antitrust laws.
Senate Bill 597, which was amended and passed in the Senate Health and Human Resources Committee on Tuesday, would exempt the actions of the West Virginia Health Care Authority and any actions of hospitals and health care providers under the authority’s jurisdiction from state and federal antitrust laws.
The committee-recommended bill also allows cooperative agreements between a teaching hospital — Cabell Huntington — and one or more hospitals. The agreement will allow, among other transactions, the consolidation by merger or other combination of assets.