The Health Policy Commission, created in 2012 with the goal of helping keep healthcare spending under control, has put two projects on hold since October. It is currently reviewing plans for Framingham, Mass.-based MetroWest Medical Center and Boston-based New England Baptist Hospital to join Boston-based Beth Israel Deaconess Care Organization, a contracting group. The commission is also expected to assume an analysis of MetroWest’s planned clinical affiliation with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
The reviews, called cost and market impact reviews, represent the first time the commission has closely inspected affiliations and contracting agreements. It previously reserved elevated levels of scrutiny for mergers and acquisitions.
“We’re in a new era now, where the public scrutiny of the Health Policy Commission and Attorney General and Department of Public Health is still shaking out in this new landscape, and [this] is an apt example of people testing the limits on both sides of the fence,” said John McDonough, DrPH, a professor of Public Health at Boston-based Harvard School of Public Health, according to the report.
But members of the commission say the threshold for taking a closer look at proposed deals has not changed. The proposed deals have raised flags about contributing to rising healthcare spending in Massachusetts, according to the report.
Healthcare providers have 21 days after the commencement of the state review to respond to the matter. The commission then gets 104 days to complete the review. If its results are negative, the commission can refer the evaluation to the attorney general, according to the report.
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