Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey approved the proposed merger between Boston-based Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Burlington, Mass.-based Lahey Health and three other hospital organizations, with conditions, Nov. 29.
Here are four things to know:
1. The attorney general's office attached a string of conditions to the proposed merger's approval, including that the combined organization, Beth Israel Lahey Health, will work under a seven-year price cap and maintain $71.6 million in financial commitments to support healthcare services for low-income and underserved communities statewide.
2. For seven years after the merger, BILH will operate under a price cap that guarantees the system's price increases stay below the state's healthcare cost growth benchmark, which is currently set at 3.1 percent. The cap will avoid more than $1 billion of the potential cost increases projected by the Health Policy Commission, which outlined potential cost increases in its various reports on the proposed deal earlier this year.
3. The attorney general's office will also require BILH to make good faith efforts to enroll all licensed providers in MassHealth, the state's Medicaid and children's health insurance program, within three years and submit a plan to do so within the next 18 months.
4. BILH will also spend $71.6 million over eight years to improve care access to low-income and underserved communities, with a focus on joint business planning with safety net hospital affiliates, among other initiatives.
To access the attorney general's full statement, click here.