Late Thursday, the nation's largest hospital chain said that it had received a takeover offer of $47 a share.

Some felt the Jarvik-7 became tainted by its association with the hospital chain.

The idea is that with shorter patient stays and more home care, a hospital chain must hammer away at efficiency.

But federal officials are continuing to investigate the hospital chain for patient abuse and Medicaid fraud.

The city's two hospitals are both owned by for-profit hospital chains.

In the end, public hospitals turned to a wealthy, for-profit hospital chain for help.

Republic Health, a cobbled-together hospital chain, would survive to fight another day.

Combined, the two companies would be the nation's largest hospital chain by far, with more than $9 billion in annual revenue and about 170 hospitals.

A hospital chain with multiple locations may have 150 rates for the same procedure.

But analysts say that, for many other hospitals and hospital chains, the current environment makes mergers more likely.