PROVIDENCE – An application for the proposed merger between Lifespan Corp. and Care New England Health System was deemed “complete” on Tuesday and ready for a 120-day review process, according to R.I. Attorney General’s Office and the R.I. Department of Health.
Rhode Island Attorney General Peter F. Neronha and Director of Health Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott issued an announcement stating that the 120-day review of the application submitted by Lifespan Corp. and Care New England Health System will start on Wednesday. Finding the merger application to be “complete” is considered a “procedural milestone,” Neronha’s office said.
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“As a regulator with the immense responsibility of evaluating hospital transactions in our state, our goal is clear,” Neronha said. “We need to determine whether the transaction is legal and understand how, if approved, it will impact cost, quality and access to care for the people of Rhode Island.”
Lifespan and Care New England first announced in February that they reached a definitive agreement to merge into an integrated health system, in the wake of financial stress caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, arguing that the merger will put the state’s major health care providers on a “stronger financial footing through greater economies of scale and efficiency.” The proposal received the support of former Gov. Gina M. Raimondo, with a key component of the deal being the role of Brown University’s Warren Alpert Medical School, with the university offering a minimum of $125 million over five years to support the new unified entity, while providing it a new governing board and integrating the school’s medical training program into the health care system.
Neronha pledged to follow the facts as he and staff from his office determine whether the merger would ensure that quality care and access to that care is maintained throughout the state. Lifespan, which has about 16,500 employees, operates Rhode Island Hospital, The Miriam Hospital, Hasbro Children’s Hospital, Newport Hospital, and Bradley Hospital. Care New England, which has roughly 8,000 employees, operates Women & Infants Hospital, Kent Hospital, and Butler Hospital.
“While the goal is clear, the path toward accomplishing that goal is complex and requires a thorough and careful vetting of an enormous amount of information,” Neronha said. “We need to sift through all that information, with the help of our experts, to ensure compliance with the law. A determination of completeness is the first step toward conducting a thorough review that will, importantly, include input from the public.”
The review of the merger application also involves a determination of which materials submitted to the state by the hospital companies will be shielded from the public record due to confidentiality issues. That determination must be made by Dec. 30, the AG’s office said, and then all the merger application material that is not deemed confidential will be released to the public.
“At that point, the application will be made public, and public meetings will be scheduled within two months of that date,” the AG’s office said.
Alexander-Scott is also taking a lead role in the vetting process for the merger application. Alexander-Scott promised a “focus on communities that have historically experienced health disparities” as part of the review.
“This review process will be rigorous and thorough and will involve the gathering of feedback from people throughout Rhode Island in public comment sessions,” Alexander-Scott said.
The deadline for completing the review of the merger application is March 16, 2022.
Marc Larocque is a PBN staff writer. Contact him at Larocque@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter @LaRockPBN.
