OSF Healthcare and Rockford Health System ended their efforts to join forces Thursday in an amicable split that executives said was "forced on them" by the federal government. But they didn't completely rule out a future affiliation or collaboration that might happen once game-changing national healthcare reform has a clearer direction. The news came just a few days before a hearing at the Federal Trade Commission in Washington, D.C., was to start and nearly two years since the two sides announced their intentions to research a possible marriage.
