In an effort to quell the current pace of healthcare consolidation in Washington and examine issues of healthcare access, 11 civil rights and healthcare advocacy organizations have called on Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee to enact a six-month moratorium on hospital mergers and acquisitions in the state.
The groups, which include the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington and NARAL Pro-Choice Washington, said they want the State Department of Health to hold off on approving any hospital transaction because they believe many proposed deals could alter access to healthcare.
For example, last month, Seattle-based University of Washington Medicine and Vancouver, Wash.-based PeaceHealth signed a letter of intent to create a "strategic affiliation." Both organizations will remain legally independent, but the deal has drawn ire from the public, as many stakeholders have questioned whether the secular UW Medicine and Catholic-based PeaceHealth will keep their women's health policies separate.
Other hospital M&A activity in Washington over the past couple months has included Tacoma-based Franciscan Health System, which finalized its acquisition of Burien-based Highline Medical Center. Three small community hospitals — Cascade Valley Hospital in Arlington, Island Hospital in Anacortes and Skagit Valley Hospital in Mount Vernon, are also looking for partners.
"Patients are at risk of being denied medically appropriate healthcare due to the unprecedented number of medical facilities in Washington that are considering or are planning mergers with religious healthcare corporations," the groups' letter said. "When such mergers take place, secular hospitals are required to follow religious doctrine, resulting in patient care dictated by someone else's religious beliefs, not the patient's needs or interests…the moratorium would give our state's leaders an important opportunity to gather data and consider in-depth how these fast-moving transactions are changing the face of healthcare access in Washington."
The groups, which include the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington and NARAL Pro-Choice Washington, said they want the State Department of Health to hold off on approving any hospital transaction because they believe many proposed deals could alter access to healthcare.
For example, last month, Seattle-based University of Washington Medicine and Vancouver, Wash.-based PeaceHealth signed a letter of intent to create a "strategic affiliation." Both organizations will remain legally independent, but the deal has drawn ire from the public, as many stakeholders have questioned whether the secular UW Medicine and Catholic-based PeaceHealth will keep their women's health policies separate.
Other hospital M&A activity in Washington over the past couple months has included Tacoma-based Franciscan Health System, which finalized its acquisition of Burien-based Highline Medical Center. Three small community hospitals — Cascade Valley Hospital in Arlington, Island Hospital in Anacortes and Skagit Valley Hospital in Mount Vernon, are also looking for partners.
"Patients are at risk of being denied medically appropriate healthcare due to the unprecedented number of medical facilities in Washington that are considering or are planning mergers with religious healthcare corporations," the groups' letter said. "When such mergers take place, secular hospitals are required to follow religious doctrine, resulting in patient care dictated by someone else's religious beliefs, not the patient's needs or interests…the moratorium would give our state's leaders an important opportunity to gather data and consider in-depth how these fast-moving transactions are changing the face of healthcare access in Washington."
More Articles on Hospital Transactions:
15 Recent Hospital Transactions and Partnerships
SCL Health System Plans Sale of St. John's in California to Providence Health & Services
University of Washington Medicine, PeaceHealth to Affiliate