Judge says St. Luke's buyout violates antitrust law, must be undone

A federal judge ruled Friday against Idaho's largest hospital system in an antitrust lawsuit that observers believe may shape the future of hospital-physician buyouts at a time of rapid consolidation in the nation's health care industry. U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill in Boise said St. Luke's Health System broke antitrust laws when it bought Saltzer Medical Group, Idaho's largest independent physicians’ practice, slightly more than a year ago.