Washington, DC, December 5, 2025 — The US FTC said it welcomed the termination of Aya Healthcare’s proposed acquisition of Cross Country Healthcare, stating that the deal raised significant risks to competition in software and services used by hospitals to manage traveling nurses and other temporary clinical staff.
Bureau of Competition Director Daniel Guarnera said the tie-up would have eliminated head-to-head rivalry between two of the largest providers of managed services and staffing-support tools relied on by hospitals nationwide.
Risks to Workers and Hospitals
The FTC said the transaction threatened to reduce options for thousands of healthcare workers, raise costs for hospitals and ultimately increase expenses for patients. Officials noted that the deal formed part of a broader consolidation trend across healthcare staffing and workforce-management markets.
Enforcement Outlook
Guarnera thanked agency staff for their work and said the Bureau of Competition will continue to investigate and, when necessary, take enforcement action to protect competition in healthcare and labor markets.
The statement reiterated that the FTC’s mission is to promote competition and safeguard consumers, and encouraged the public to report antitrust concerns and follow agency updates.
