Dive Brief:
- New Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healy submitted a three-page court filing expressing her strong opposition to a deal that would allow Boston-based Partners HealthCare to complete its acquisitions of South Shore Hospital in Weymouth, MA, and Hallmark Health System in Melrose, MA.
- In the filing, Healy also said would submit an antitrust lawsuit to block the Partners acquisition of South Shore Hospital if the consent judgment, which her predecessor Martha Coakley entered into with Partners, is not entered by the court.
- Among her concerns: "The Consent judgment would allow Partners to grow but conditions that expansion on the promise of future price restrictions and changes to Partners' contracting practices," wrote Healey, adding that she would prefer "to reverse that order of events and instead consider any future proposed Partners' expansion only after Partners demonstrates an ability to contribute to healthcare cost containment in Massachusetts."
Dive Insight:
Healey's opposing stance to her her predecessor Coakley's is a big setback for Partners. Yet Healy raises timely and important concerns about Partners having too much power in Massachusetts when it comes to controlling healthcare costs. Partners, for its part, has emphasized that expansion would allow the healthcare giant to improve population-health management efforts and lower costs to consumers.
As of November, Superior Court judge Janet L. Sanders had given no indication of how she will rule on Partners' proposed acquisitions, but displayed skepticism of the validity of the previous attorney general's approval. The deal, which would make Partners the state's largest healthcare system, was approved by Attorney General Martha Coakley during a gubernatorial campaign which she lost. Sanders suggested that Coakley's political ambitions may have colored her approval of the deal (sparking hot words from Coakley).
Coakley and Partners reached a final settlement six months ago, marking the conclusion of an AG and federal investigation that had gone on for five years. Should Sanders approve the deal, Partners will acquire South Shore Hospital in Weymouth and two Hallmark Health System hospitals in Medford and Melrose at the cost of price caps and limits on Partners' growth and contracting practices. The caps expire in six and a half years—one major concern Sanders has expressed. "What’s to say they don't recoup all their losses [after the cap expires]?" Sanders said. "If they recoup all the money, what have you gotten at the end of the day?"
The Partners deal faces stiff opposition from the system's competitors as well as antitrust specialists, consumer advocates, watchdog groups and others.