Dive Brief:
- MA Attorney General Maura Healey says she may consider a lawsuit to block Hallmark Health System from merging with Partners HealthCare.
- Alan McDonald, the new CEO of Hallmark Health System, says the controversial merger is critical to Hallmark's ability to invest in new services and compete for patients, and he remains committed to completing it.
- In January, Superior Court judge Janet Sanders rejected a proposed agreement that would have allowed Partners to acquire three MA hospitals while merging with Hallmark Health System.
Dive Insight:
In a 48-page opinion, Sanders wrote, "By permitting the acquisitions, the settlement, if adopted by this Court, would cement Partners' already strong position in the healthcare market and give it the ability, because of this market muscle, to exact higher prices from insurers for the services its providers render."
Healey told WBUR's CommonHealth she wants proof that Partners knows how to use its size to save money. She said she would consider any future proposed agreements "only after Partners demonstrates an ability to contribute to healthcare cost containment in Massachusetts."