Case Details

Year Initiated/Committed

2018

Year Resolved

2018

Settlement Amount

n/a

Court

Massachusetts Superior Court, Sussex County

Docket Number

2018-2703

Lead State

MA

Participating States

MA

Defendant(s)

Beth Israel Lahey Health, Inc.

Case Description

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Lahey Health System sought to merger to form the Beth Israel Lahey Health system (BILH). After a lengthy investigation, the Massachusetts Attorney General reached a settlement that permitted the merger while imposing a seven-year price cap and $71.6 million in financial commitments to support health care services for low-income and underserved communities in Massachusetts. In an assurance of discontinuance, filed in Suffolk Superior Court, the parties agreed to a series of enforceable conditions that also require BILH to strengthen its commitment to MassHealth; engage in joint business planning with its safety net hospital affiliates, including Lawrence General Hospital, Cambridge Health Alliance, and Signature Brockton Hospital; and enhance access to mental health and substance use disorder treatment across the system, as well as requiring BILH to retain a third-party monitor to ensure compliance with the terms. The settlement resulted after a referral from the state Health Policy Commission (HPC), which asked the AG’s Office to determine whether it could negotiate terms to address potential cost increases and barriers to access to care raised by the HPC’s own review of the transaction.