FTC order would force Ascension to sell seven surgery centers

Patients who need same-day surgery could end up with fewer places to go, or fewer alternatives for their insurer to steer business, if a proposed $3.9 billion deal closes in five local markets. In Washington, the Federal Trade Commission says its proposed consent agreement with Ascension Health Alliance and Ambulatory TopCo, LLC would settle alleged violations of federal competition law while keeping outpatient surgery competition alive where it might otherwise narrow.

The transaction would combine two major providers of outpatient surgical services. The FTC says that in the markets it identified, health plans already rely on the companies as meaningful alternatives, and patients move between their facilities. That is the pressure point here: not a merger on paper, but the loss of a rival that can shape what hospitals, insurers and doctors have to offer to stay in the game.

The centers the FTC wants kept separate

Under the proposed order, Ascension would have to divest AmSurg’s majority interests in seven ambulatory surgery centers in Nashville, Panama City, Tulsa, Waco and Wichita. Six of those centers would go to SC Affiliates, an affiliate of UnitedHealth Group, and one in Panama City would go to a physician group that already holds a minority stake there.

The commission’s analysis says the consent order is meant to preserve the competition that would otherwise disappear if the deal went through as planned. It also calls for transition assistance, protection of confidential information, a monitor and, if needed, a trustee to finish the divestitures. Public comments are due July 10, 2026.