On September 27, 2016, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit reversed a district court decision that the Federal Trade Commission and the state of Pennsylvania could not block the merger of two hospital systems, holding that the FTC and Pennsylvania successfully demonstrated the merger would violate Section 7 of the Clayton Act. The lower court, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, is expected to enter a preliminary injunction against the merger on remand.

Hershey Medical Center is a 551-bed teaching hospital owned by Penn State University College of Medicine, located in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Hershey employs over 800 physicians, and has also entered into partnerships with other hospitals to provide outpatient services such as endoscopies, trauma treatment, and surgeries. PinnacleHealth System owns three hospitals—two in Harrisburg and one in Mechanicsburg—that provide mainly primary and secondary general acute care services. According to the FTC, Hershey and PinnacleHealth are the two largest hospital providers in Harrisburg and its surrounding areas.