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Dive Brief:
- Adena Health has acquired Fairfield Medical Center, months after federal regulators scrutinized its previous planned merger with OhioHealth, the state’s largest health system.
- The Federal Trade Commission said Fairfield and OhioHealth scrapped their merger plans after an investigation concluded that a merger between the two systems would violate antitrust guidelines and negatively affect the quality and cost of care.
- Now, federal regulators are praising Fairfield’s new deal, which closed on Tuesday. “Today’s announcement should serve as a reminder that we will stop bad hospital deals,” Daniel Guarnera, Director of the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Competition said in a Wednesday statement.
Dive Insight:
It’s the latest scrutiny from federal regulators on Columbus-based OhioHealth.
The system had worked to buy struggling FMC since 2024 and formally announced its acquisition plan in November 2025.
Those plans, however, ended when the FTC filed a lawsuit against OhioHealth on Feb. 20, alleging the health system was forcing insurers into anticompetitive contracts. Regulators said OhioHealth was using its size and strength in the market to force insurers to add the health system to its commercial networks, pushing out lower-cost health plans fronted by other hospitals.
At the same time, regulators say they opened an investigation into OhioHealth’s proposed purchase of Lancaster, Ohio-based FMC, and encouraged FMC to seek alternative buyers.
That encouragement resulted in FMC abandoning its deal with OhioHealth after seeing interest from “multiple potential buyers,” according to the FTC. FMC and Adena Health announced a letter of intent to join forces on June 1.
Now, the FTC is touting its role in FMC’s new merger agreement, saying it should serve as a reminder for hospitals seeking to acquire others that are near collapse. FMC had racked up years of losses, including an operating loss of more than $37 million in 2025.
The FTC will work “expeditiously with firms to investigate whether there is a better buyer and, if the commission deems it necessary, go to court to block a bad deal,” Guarnera said.
“This is a win for the commission, for FMC, and, most importantly for FMC’s patients and employees,” he added.
Adena Health said the creation of Adena Fairfield Medical Center is a significant step in the health system’s 130-year history.
“Our mission calls us to serve our communities, and we believe the people who live and work in this region deserve access to high-quality care they can trust, close to home,” Adena President and CEO Kathi Edrington said in a Tuesday press release.
On the other side, OhioHealth officials said they accepted their fate.
“Although regulatory hurdles created obstacles to our partnership with Fairfield Medical Center, we believe that local access to healthcare is important to every community,” a spokesperson said. “We fully support Fairfield’s decision to move forward with another partner and remain appreciative of their collaboration.”
