The Massachusetts Health Policy Commission, the state's healthcare watchdog agency, is delaying a proposed merger between Burlington, Mass.-based Lahey Health and Boston-based Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and three other hospitals to analyze the deal's effect on healthcare quality, costs and access to care, according to the Boston Globe.
The commission's decision to review the deal was expected, as the transaction is one of the largest and most complicated deals ever proposed in Massachusetts, according to the report.
Under the proposed deal, Lahey and Beth Israel Deaconess would join with Baptist Hospital in Boston, Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge, Mass., and Anna Jaques Hospital in Newburyport, Mass. The organizations plan to combine to compete with the state's largest hospital network, Boston-based Partners HealthCare.
The Massachusetts Health Policy Commission cannot block the transaction. However, if it determines the transaction would hurt consumers, it can refer those concerns to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and the attorney general's office, according to the report.
In a joint statement to the Boston Globe, the provider organizations involved in the proposed transaction said they welcome the commission's review and are confident the combined entity would improve care quality and help contain healthcare costs.
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