More states are passing laws requiring their attorney general or another regulator to conduct premerger antitrust reviews of health care transactions, creating a new headache for dealmakers already facing stepped-up antitrust scrutiny at the federal level.
Health care attorneys say that as a result of the new state hurdles, legal departments should expect deals may take longer and be more costly to close. And in a worst-case scenario, “you may see deals fall apart if they drag out,” said April Schweitzer, a partner in the health care practice at Nixon Peabody, in Chicago.
