California Attorney General Rob Bonta has conditionally approved a pediatric hospital merger under which Children's HealthCare of California, the parent company of Children's Hospital of Orange County and CHOC at Mission Hospital, and Rady Children's Hospital and Health Center, the parent company of Rady Children's Hospital–San Diego, will form a single parent entity called Rady Children's Health.
Mr. Bonta announced the approval on Nov. 4, saying the conditions will "ensure that Southern California families retain access to quality, affordable pediatric care during the most difficult times in a child's life."
Among other conditions to be met, Rady Children's must ensure the following conditions for a 10-year period, according to Mr. Bonta's conditional approval letter:
- Continually maintain general acute-care hospital licenses, CMS certifications and all existing levels of services and beds, including emergency services and neonatal ICU spaces, licensed to CHOC, CHOC at Mission and RCHSD
- Maintain existing and licensed specialty healthcare services offered in the spaces and settings of CHOC, CHOC at Mission and RCHSD
- Maintain open medical staff privileges, and allow medical staff to contract with payers or other providers, under certain circumstances
- Refrain from anticompetitive practices including "bundling" or "all-or-nothing" contracting
The health systems announced their intent to combine in December.
They also said at the time that CHOC's president and CEO, Kimberly Cripe, and Rady Children's president and CEO, Patrick Frias, MD, will serve as co-CEOs of Rady Children's Health.