Dive Brief:
- Boston Medical Center and Tufts Medical Center have released a joint statement that their merger talks, which began last year, have ended with no deal.
- Hospital officials said that combining the two major teaching hospitals would have been a "complex task" and that it would be better for the two to remain separate but open to collaborations.
- Analysts suggested to the Boston Globe that the hospitals were unable to overcome differences in culture, mission and strategies for the future.
Dive Insight:
If the two had joined forces, it would have changed the healthcare landscape in Boston by creating the biggest deal between two city hospitals in almost 20 years.
It had been hoped that a merger would put the hospitals in a better position to compete with other Boston health systems by reducing costs and attracting a broader consumer base. Until as recently as a few weeks ago, officials had said they were aiming for a deal by the end of the year.
Experts note that both hospitals have struggled financially and that it now remains unclear how they will move forward in the crowded healthcare market.