Georgia's Attorney General has filed a joint complaint with the Federal Trade Commission seeking to delay Phoebe Putney Health System's proposed acquisition of Palmyra Park Hospital.

The complaint was filed in federal court in Albany, Ga.

It alleges the transaction would violate federal law by eliminating the current competition between Phoebe Putney and Palmyra Park Hospital in Albany and the surrounding six-county area. The complaint also charges that Phoebe Putney has used the Hospital Authority to shield private, anticompetitive activity hoping it would exempt the acquisition from federal antitrust law.

The filing came after the FTC vote unanimously to request an injunction of the merger.

Tags: Georgia, Albany, Federal Trade Commission, Phoebe Putney Health System, Palmyra Park Hospital