Dive Brief:
- Livonia, Mich.-based Trinity Health plans to merge St. Joseph Mercy Health System and Mercy Health, effective Jan. 1, Crain’s Detroit Business reported.
- The two health systems — with a total of 10 hospitals, 2,357 beds, nine outpatient medical centers, 12 urgent cares, 35 specialty clinics and 22,500 employees — serve southeastern and western Michigan.
- Rob Casalou, regional president and CEO of St. Joseph Mercy, will lead the combined system, while Mercy Health President and CEO Roger Spoelman will head up strategic and operational integration at Trinity Health.
Dive Insight:
The new statewide structure is part of Trinity Health’s broader strategy to integrate systems and resources, officials said in a release. The company recently merged five hospitals in Connecticut and Massachusetts to create Trinity Health of New England.
The move also reflects an ongoing trend of healthcare organizations consolidating to save costs in the face of declining admissions and reimbursement cuts. A number of health systems reported operating losses in the third quarter of 2017, including Tenet Health, Community Health Systems and Quorum Health.
Hospitals and health systems thrived in the years following implementation of the Affordable Care Act. But a trend toward high deductible health plans that left some patients unable to pay for services and a decline in uncompensated care have left health systems struggling to make ends meet.
Recently announced merger plans include Northside Hospital and Gwinnet Health System in Georgia and Fairview Health and HealthEast Care System in Minneapolis/St. Paul. University of Pittsburgh Medical Center is also in the process of acquiring Harrisburg, Pa.-based PinnacleHealth, a deal that will increase UPMC’s market share in the central part of the state. And Ardent Health Services and The University of Texas System formed a joint venture to acquire East Texas Medical Center Regional Healthcare System.
Trinity Health recently expanded its footprint in the Chicago area with a definitive agreement by Trinity-owned Loyola Medicine to purchase Tenet’s MacNeal Hospital and related operations. That deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2018, pending regulatory approvals.