Two more players are in talks to join Boston-based Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Burlington, Mass.-based Lahey Health's proposed merger: Boston-based New England Baptist Hospital and Cambridge, Mass.-based Mount Auburn Hospital, according to The Boston Globe.
NEBH announced its intent to join the proposed merger Thursday. A spokesperson for Lahey Health told The Boston Globe Mount Auburn Hospital, a 225-bed hospital affiliated with Boston-based Harvard Medical School, is "in discussions [with officials] … about their potential participation," according to the report.
If the proposed merger is successful, the combined entity would become the second-largest health system in the state by revenue with 10 hospitals generating more than $5 billion in annual revenue, according to the report.
Beth Israel Deaconess and Lahey Health have been in on-again, off-again negotiations about a potential partnership for the past six years. The institutions officially signed a merger agreement in January.
The CEOs of both Beth Israel Deaconess and Lahey Health have argued the proposed merger would benefit patients and allow the health systems to become active competitors in the market.
Officials have not currently filed formal merger plans. After they file the necessary paperwork, officials expect the approval process to take approximately one year to complete, according to the report.