Healthcare Merger Mania - Is Lifespan Next for Boston’s Partners HealthCare?
Wednesday, February 28, 2018
Forget the PawSox -- the future of a minor league baseball team is economically insignificant compared to the implosion of Rhode Island’s healthcare industry.
While the PawSox have fewer than 25 full-time employees, healthcare in Rhode Island employs more than 57,000.
The latest blockbuster is the announcement that Boston’s Partners HealthCare is expanding its deal for the financially floundering Care New England (CNE) to include Providence-based Lifespan. The joint announcement was vague at best.
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Healthcare is the largest sector of the Rhode Island economy and Lifespan and CNE are among the largest private employers — the two RI healthcare groups claim nearly 20,000 employees.
Economic projections for the future of Rhode Island’s economy show that healthcare will be an ever-increasingly more important sector of the economy.
According to the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training, “Employment in 2024 is projected to reach 542,400, an increase of 36,000 (7.1%) from our 2014 employment. Much of this growth is attributed to the increased demand for the products and services provided by the Health Care & Social Assistance…Healthcare Support (11.3%).”
And according to RI DLT, healthcare is expected to grow to more than 62,000 by 2024.
Some experts worry that many of the jobs and much of the growth could be realized in Boston rather than Rhode Island, if Partners’ move to acquire CNE goes forward and the adverse impact could be even more devastating for Rhode Island’s economy if a Partners Lifespan deal develops.
Brown Raises Newest Concerns
Brown University President Christina Paxson has been sounding the alarms about the Partners CNE deal.
On Tuesday, Paxson reacted strongly to the announcement, “We continue to be concerned about the impact of the acquisition of Care New England by Massachusetts-based Partners — and now a possible business relationship between Partners and Lifespan — on the cost of and access to healthcare in the state. Previously, we have noted that the acquisition of Care New England by Partners could undermine competition in the healthcare market and lead to higher healthcare costs. A business relationship between Partners and Lifespan that further consolidates market power could have additional adverse effects on Rhode Islanders.”
The announcement of Lifespan joining the CNE-Partners garnered reaction from labor.
"We are curious to see what develops from talks between Lifespan, Partners HealthCare and Care New England. Should a three-way deal be consummated, we would expect to begin discussions with management on how to strengthen resources for bedside caregivers and support staff as part of a wider effort to improve healthcare delivery in Rhode Island,” said United Nurses and Allied Professionals spokesman Ray Sullivan.
“While we cautiously await further details, Lifespan's involvement in this proposed merger is significant and must be given serious consideration. We hope it helps ends the ill-thought effort between Prospect Medical Holdings and Brown University to break up Care New England,” said Sullivan.
Both Lifespan and Partners refused to answer questions about the potential Partners, CNE and Lifespan deal.
Lifespan's Track Record
In the Spring of 2017, Lifespan entered into another Boston hospital agreement. That agreement is with Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and is a long-term agreement with the goal of advancing cancer treatment and research.
Lifespan however previously entered into an agreement with New England Medical Center and that deal led to years of protracted litigation to unwind. Lifespan also ran into a legal battle with Tufts Medical Center. Lifespan was ordered to pay millions.
Regarding the 2017 Dana-Farber agreement, Lifespan reported:
This Boston hospital agreement will support expansion of clinical trials, offer access for Lifespan physicians to cancer-specific disease expertise for complex cases, and create a program to coordinate the treatment of bone marrow transplant patients.
“Lifespan Cancer Institute’s patients will continue to receive excellent cancer care in Rhode Island, but patients with rare and more complex cancers will benefit from seamless referrals and coordination of care with Dana-Farber. The new agreement gives us the ability to offer the latest and most cutting-edge clinical trials to patients from Rhode Island and surrounding areas. Successful cancer programs and new discovery depend on access to large populations of patients. We are proud to be working with one of the leading cancer centers in the United States,” said Timothy Babineau, M.D., president and CEO of Lifespan.
About the potential new deal with CNE and Partners, Babineau said in a statement on Tuesday, “I am excited about what this could mean; for our patients, our mission and the Rhode Island and regional health care delivery system. Lifespan has always been interested in partnering with like-minded, superb organizations, and I look forward to the discussions and the potential to continually improve the seamless and coordinated care we deliver to our patients.”
Related Slideshow: RI Healthcare Chaos - February, 2018
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