Here are three things to know:
1. Hospital officials said in an Aug. 20 prepared statement obtained by The Salem News the proposed merger would save between $149 million and $270 million per year from increased efficiencies and stiffer competition between the combined organization and the state’s largest hospital company, Boston-based Partners HealthCare.
2. The conclusion differs from a July report released by state watchdog agency The Health Policy Commission, which found the deal would increase costs by $138 million to $191 million annually. Beth Israel and Lahey Health officials said the agency’s report “grossly overstated” the transaction’s potential effect on healthcare prices, and that the organizations “fundamentally disagree” on how the agency evaluated the planned merger.
3. While the watchdog agency does not have the authority to halt the proposed merger, which includes Beth Israel, Lahey Health and three other organizations, the organization may refer the deal to the state attorney general’s office for final review. Attorney General Maura Healey wrote a letter to the agency in July stating her concern over the proposed merger’s effect on care costs and impoverished patients’ access to care, the report states.
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