The Supreme Court questioned a monopoly on hospital services in southwestern GA. The justices heard arguments in the federal government's claim that 2 private corporations used a public hospital authority to complete a deal that left one company as the owner of the only 2 hospitals in Albany. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) says the deal violates federal antitrust law. Lower federal courts allowed Albany's Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital to buy Palmyra Medical Center from Hospital Corporation of America for $195 million over the FTC's objection.
