Healthcare M&A and State Mini-HSR Laws: Navigating an Evolving Patchwork of State Antitrust Obligations

About the Course

Introduction

This CLE webinar will provide a survey and comparison of state antitrust laws and their impact on healthcare M&A transactions. The panel will review the similarities and differences of current and proposed state antitrust merger clearance regimes, including recently enacted legislation based on the federal Uniform Antitrust Pre-Merger Notification Act (UAPNA); highlight laws with high risk areas of enforcement; and recommend strategies for establishing an antitrust clearance framework that accounts for the evolving patchwork of state law obligations.

Description

Healthcare M&A transactions are facing increased state scrutiny as multiple states expand their oversight authority in addition to that imposed by the federal government. A growing number of states have enacted or proposed mini-HSR laws, often focused on specific industries like healthcare, to require state-level premerger notice and reporting requirements that resemble the federal Hart-Scott-Rodino Act (HSR).

Over the past year, California, Washington, and Colorado have become the first states to enact their versions of the UAPNA which requires that merging parties contemporaneously file a copy of their HSR filings with applicable state entities. Other states have proposed similar legislation based on the UAPNA.

State antitrust laws add an additional layer of regulatory requirements for merging parties to consider, and they are expected to increase transaction timelines, costs, and risks. Counsel and merging parties must understand and comply with state antitrust requirements as failure to do so may result in substantial fines or enforcement actions.

Listen as our authoritative panel reviews the status of state antitrust laws and provides guidance for navigating state-specific merger notification regimes.

Presented By

John C. Saran

Partner

Holland & Knight LLP

Mr. Saran regularly advises healthcare companies and private equity investors on M&A, finance and restructuring transactions and public offerings in the healthcare industry, including independent practices, management/dental support organizations, hospice/home health companies and digital health companies. In addition, he has experience in assisting provider platforms with their daily operations and growth strategy, including add-on acquisitions, complex service arrangements and joint ventures. Mr. Saran's regulatory practice helps clients navigate the new state healthcare transaction laws and matters related to the corporate practice of medicine, fraud and abuse laws, HIPAA and state licensure. Moreover, he assists clients in the development and implementation of regulatory compliance programs and the assessment of ongoing enforcement actions and audits. More recently, he has advised healthcare clients on homeland security and immigration enforcement matters.

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E. John Steren

Member

Epstein Becker & Green PC

Mr. Steren leverages his more than 30 years of health care antitrust and litigation experience to help health care clients manage the risks of joint ventures and other business arrangements and to defend them against government investigations and enforcement actions. He also provides counseling and litigation services to employers in connection with non-competition and pricing-related issues. For health care clients, Mr. Steren provides advice on whether their conduct, typically undertaken in an effort to improve upon the delivery of care or in response to the changing landscape of the markets in which they compete, raises any antitrust issues. Clients also rely on his advice on expansion-related issues (i.e., M&As), competitor collaborations, networking issues, payor contracting issues, information exchanges, enforcement actions, and third-party-related defenses. For employers, Mr. Steren provides counseling and litigation services relating to the protection of trade secrets, the development and enforcement of non-compete agreements, and pricing and price discrimination. A thought leader in the antitrust field, Mr. Steren speaks regularly and has authored numerous articles on antitrust issues affecting the health care industry.

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Credit Information

This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.
Choose a State

Live Online

On Demand

Date + Time

event
Wednesday, July 29, 2026
schedule
1:00 PM ET/10:00 AM PT

I. Overview: the role states play in antitrust enforcement

II. Analyzing the interplay between state and federal antitrust laws

A. Uniform Antitrust Pre-Merger Notification Act

III. Comparing current and proposed state antitrust laws: similarities and differences

A. States that have enacted or proposed legislation based on the UAPNA

IV. States with high risk areas of enforcement

V. Strategies for evaluating the implications of state-specific merger notification regimes to ensure transactional compliance

VI. Key takeaways

The panel will review these and other important issues:

What are the current trends and developments in state and federal antitrust enforcement impacting healthcare M&A?
What are common similarities and notable differences between current and proposed state antitrust laws?
What are the parameters of the UAPNA, and how are its requirements reflected in recently enacted state legislation based on the UAPNA? What is the status of other state-proposed legislation based on the UAPNA?
How should counsel and parties engaged in healthcare M&As prepare for increased scrutiny under new state-level antitrust laws?