Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison is seeking public input on HealthPartners’ proposed acquisition of Essentia Health as his office begins reviewing the transaction under state healthcare, charities and antitrust laws.
Bloomington, Minn.-based HealthPartners and Duluth, Minn.-based Essentia Health on Sept. 29 signed a definitive agreement to combine, creating a 22-hospital nonprofit system with more than 135 clinics and about 45,000 employees.
“Proposed healthcare consolidation requires close scrutiny,” Mr. Ellison said in a Sept. 29 statement. “As we have done several times now, we will conduct a thorough review of this potential acquisition to ensure it complies with the law and is in the public interest.”
The attorney general’s office said it will evaluate the transaction in consultation with the Minnesota Department of Health, including its potential effects on patients and the healthcare workforce. The review will consider healthcare options, access and affordability, and public feedback will be included in the evaluation.
HealthPartners operates eight hospitals and more than 90 clinics and outpatient sites and employs about 28,000 people, including more than 2,000 clinicians. The organization serves more than 1.4 million patients in Minnesota and western Wisconsin, while its insurance arm covers roughly 1.6 million members.
Essentia operates 14 hospitals and 80 clinics across Minnesota, Wisconsin and North Dakota, along with pharmacies, senior living facilities, long-term care operations and an ambulance service. It employs about 16,500 people and has more than 2,500 clinicians serving about 600,000 patients.
Under the proposed transaction, HealthPartners President and CEO Andrea Walsh would lead the combined organization, which would operate as HealthPartners. Essentia CEO David Herman, MD, would become president of the combined organization’s care group.
The systems have said the combination would expand specialty care and support investments in digital health, research, data analytics and workforce development. The transaction is expected to take effect Jan. 1, pending regulatory approvals.
The proposed deal comes amid a broader wave of consolidation in Minnesota. Sioux Falls, S.D.-based Sanford Health completed its acquisition of Robbinsdale, Minn.-based North Memorial Health on Sept. 1, while Sacramento, Calif.-based Sutter Health is pursuing a combination with Minneapolis-based Allina Health that would create a 39-hospital system with about $26 billion in revenue.
