The 619-bed Huntington Hospital in Pasadena, Calif., on Aug. 4 finalized its affiliation with Los Angeles-based Cedars-Sinai Health System.
Under the deal, Huntington Hospital will continue to have local governance as well as its own employees and board. The affiliation will allow the organizations to collaborate, share resources and expertise.
Additionally, Cedars-Sinai will invest in upgrading information technology, expanding ambulatory services and enhancing physician development.
The organizations said the affiliation will strengthen Huntington's ability to provide affordable, accessible and high-quality care.
"Huntington Hospital’s longstanding commitment [to] its community, as well as its reputation for quality along with its outstanding physicians, nurses and other staff, make it an excellent fit for the Cedars-Sinai Health System," said Vera Guerin, chair of the Cedars-Sinai board. "We are delighted to welcome Huntington Hospital to the Cedars family."
Huntington Hospital and Cedars-Sinai filed a lawsuit in March challenging the conditions imposed for approval of their affiliation by the California attorney general. One of the conditions challenged in the lawsuit places price caps on Huntington Hospital's rates to insurance companies for a decade, without requiring insurers to pass savings to consumers. Another condition requires the organizations to agree to insurers' demands for a "winner take all" arbitration decision in contract negotiations. According to the lawsuit, no other hospital is subject to those conditions.
In July, California agreed to settle the hospitals' objections to the conditions.