Transactions & Valuation Issues

Rochester (N.Y.) Regional Health, a four-hospital system, signed a nonbinding affiliation agreement with St. Lawrence Health System, a two-hospital system in Potsdam, N.Y., the organizations announced Sept. 6.

In two letters filed 10 days apart, a coalition called on residents to oppose Measure H, which proposes reopening Tulare (Calif.) Regional Medical Center, according to the Visalia Times-Delta.

New Orleans-based Ochsner Health System and Irving, Texas-based Christus Health finalized a a joint venture agreement, the systems announced Sept. 5.

A joint study by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley and the RAND Corporation found increasing consolidation among hospitals and physician practices in California correlated with higher insurance premiums and higher prices for specialty and primary care.

The Justice Department is approaching a formal approval of proposed mergers between CVS Health and Aetna, as well as Cigna and Express Scripts, people familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal.

Marriottsville, Md.-based Bon Secours Health System and Cincinnati-based Mercy Health finalized their merger Sept. 5, establishing one of the largest Catholic healthcare systems in the nation.

WellCare Health Plans, a Tampa, Fla.-based health insurer specializing in managed Medicaid and Medicare Advantage policies, completed its acquisition of Meridian Health Sept. 1.

Ending a nearly 30-year operating agreement, St. Louis-based BJC HealthCare will no longer run Columbia, Mo.-based Boone Hospital Center when the lease between the two expires at the end of 2020, reports the Columbia Missourian.

Chicago-based Northwestern Memorial HealthCare and Crystal Lake, Ill.-based Centegra Health System closed their merger deal Sept. 1.

St. Louis-based Ascension has completed the sale of Lourdes Health Network in Pasco, Wash., to Brentwood, Tenn.-based RCCH HealthCare Partners, which is owned by private equity firm Apollo Global Management, according to the Tri-City Herald.