The Massachusetts Health Policy Commission, the state's healthcare watchdog organization, will defer all decision-making regarding Boston-based Partners HealthCare's proposed acquisition of Boston-based Massachusetts Eye and Ear to the state attorney general's office, according to the Boston Business Journal.
Here are five things to know about the deal.
1. The HPC released its final report on the proposed deal Wednesday, reiterating its position outlined in a Nov. 1 report that the deal would increase healthcare spending by $20.8 million to $61.2 million annually.
2. In Wednesday's report, the organization said Partners and MEE "declined to offer an unequivocal and measurable commitment to limit such [price] increases, even though the parties expect to achieve internal efficiencies that would reduce their own expenses," according to the Boston Business Journal.
3. The agency said the proposed transaction meets the requirements for mandatory referral to the state attorney general's office because Partners currently retains a "dominant market share" in the state, the report states.
4. A spokesperson for Partners told Becker's Hospital Review Thursday, "We look forward to working with the attorney general and the department of public health as the process moves forward. This partnership will strengthen the clinical and scientific relationships between our organizations and will make Mass. Eye and Ear services and research accessible to a broader population of patients."
5. Partners and MEE announced the deal in January 2017 and signed a letter of intent agreement in May.