1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Hospital Competition Act of 2018 . 2. Hospital consolidation (a) Authorization of appropriations There is authorized to be appropriated $160,000,000 to the Federal Trade Commission to hire staff to investigate, as consistent with the Sherman Antitrust Act and other relevant Federal laws, anti-competitive mergers and practices under such laws to the extent such mergers and practices relate to providers of inpatient and outpatient health care services, as defined by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. (b) Medicare rates applied to certain HHI hospitals (1) In general Section 1866(a)(1) of the Social Security Act ( 42 U.S.C. 1395cc(a)(1) ) is amended— (A) in subparagraph (X), by striking and at the end; (B) in subparagraph (Y), by striking the period at the end and inserting ; and