Dive Brief:
- NYU Langone Medical Center (NYU Langone) and Winthrop-University Hospital (Winthrop) announced on Thursday the organizations have signed a non-binding letter of intent to begin discussions to merge and create an integrated healthcare network for the New York metropolitan area.
- NYU Langone has 175 ambulatory sites throughout the region and more than 40 practices in Queens and Long Island.
- Winthrop's main campus is located on Long Island with multiple ambulatory sites in the surrounding area.
Dive Insight:
"We have held discussions with a number of major healthcare systems in the region, and NYU Langone represents the best partner, based on many synergies, including a mutual commitment to improving quality, medical excellence, a complementary geographic presence, and, most importantly, compatibility of our cultures," John Collins, Winthrop's President and CEO, said in a prepared statement.
Thus, the Great Healthcare Merger Trend continues on. From 2014 to 2015, the number of hospital mergers, acquisitions, and other forms of partnerships grew by 18%, according to a Kaufman Hall analysis. There were 112 transactions in all, compared to 95 in 2014 and 66 in 2010.
It's interesting to note a June Health Affairs article identified factors associated with higher and lower hospital profitability based on Medicare cost report data.
Among the relevant trends was hospital consolidation, which reduces regional competition that previously stymied price growth and lends the system greater negotioating power with insurers. The authors note two profitability factors are borne of this trend: Regional power and system affiliation.
Non-regional mergers have less scrutiny when it comes to antitrust considerations.
Both parties will now engage in due diligence with an intention of negotiating and signing definitive agreements and seeking regulatory approvals.