{Kentucky}... Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway informed Governor Steve Beshear late Tuesday that he plans to tell the Federal Trade Commission, during a conference call on Friday, that the pending merger of three hospital systems in Kentucky can't go forward without the approval of the state. Conway says the merger of University of Louisville Hospital, Jewish & St. Mary's HealthCare and St. Joseph Health System in Lexington, owned by Denver-based Catholic Health Initiatives, would require the approval of Beshear and the state Finance and Administration Cabinet. Under the merger, Catholic Health Initiatives would have a 70 percent ownership of the new company. The proposal has prompted controversy over how reproductive and end-of-life care would be handled.
