Dive Brief:
- A group of Massachusetts health insurers have filed a complaint with the state attorney general expressing concern over Partners HealthCare's planned acquisition of three hospitals.
- The group, the Massachusetts Association of Health Plans, is asking a Superior Court judge to impose tougher price controls as well as other limits on Partners before allowing the mergers to go through. In particular, they'd like to see the judge limit Partners' ability to expand its network of physicians and give insurers more choice in selecting preferred providers within the Partners system.
- Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, which does not belong to the Association and doesn't oppose the mergers, nonetheless noted that execs would like to see a "robust monitoring process" in place to see that Partners complies with the terms of a deal struck with Attorney General Martha Coakley setting price caps and limits on Partners' growth over several years.
Dive Insight:
The proposed acquisitions by Partners have touched a nerve with a broad cross-section of interest groups, including Partners' competitors, business groups, consumer advocates and antitrust specialists, who contend that their acquisition of the three hospitals will boost Partners' already substantial market power enough to allow it to increase prices. In fact, state watchdog group the Healthy Policy Commission projects that the mergers could raise healthcare spending in the state by as much as $49 million a year and restrain competition.
Despite objections from these groups, as well as MassPIRG, Health Care for All and the Retailers Association of Massachusetts and the insurers, the support Partners enjoys from Democratic gubernatorial candidate Coakley may be enough to push the deal through. Ultimately, though, the settlement can't go through without court approval.