The state of Rhode Island announced on Thursday that is joining the Federal Trade Commission in a lawsuit blocking the proposed merger between Lifespan and Care New England health systems.
In the statement, the AG's office denied the parties’ application to merge, believing the proposed merger would result in “extraordinary market power” for the new hospital system that would be in violation of state and federal antitrust laws.
“I recognize how critical healthcare is for the state and for every Rhode Islander,” Attorney General Peter F. Neronha said in a prepared statement.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has only further underscored the vital importance of affordable access to high-quality care for all. Put simply, if this extraordinary and unprecedented level of control and consolidation were allowed to go forward, nearly all Rhode Islanders would see their healthcare costs go up, for healthcare that is lower in quality and harder to access” added Neronha.
If the merger were approved, the AGs office said that the combined system would, among other things, control 75% of all inpatient acute care hospital beds in Rhode Island, 80% of the Rhode Island market for inpatient hospital care, 79% of the market for inpatient psychiatric care, and 60% or more of the market for many outpatient surgery specialties.
“Today’s decision is significant not only because of the magnitude of the proposal, but because of what it means for the future healthcare outcomes for Rhode Islanders,” said Neronha.
In a joint statement, executives from Lifespan and Care New England said that they were disappointed with the decision.
“We are extremely disappointed by the decision of the FTC, as we know that the status quo will not well serve the healthcare needs of the people of Rhode Island,” said Lawrence A. Aubin, Sr., Lifespan Board of Directors Chairman, in a prepared statement. “We are committed to continued work to meet those needs now and into the future.”
“Of course, we are disappointed, but I will say that we can truly know that we did everything we could over the past few years of hard work to get this done,” said James E. Fanale, MD, Care New England President and CEO, in the same statement. “We thought it was the right thing to do, but now we will need to move on to a new path forward. There is always a path forward, and we will explore all options to find the best possible - and acceptable to regulatory bodies –solution for access to affordable, quality, health care.”