Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1471341
28 CFO / FINANCE Proposed Dartmouth Health, GraniteOne Health merger canceled By Jakob Emerson D artmouth Health and Manchester, N.H.-based GraniteOne Health are canceling their proposed merger af- ter the state Attorney General's Office said the move would violate the New Hampshire constitution, according to VTDigger. A May 13 report from Attorney General John Formella said the proposed merger would consolidate the two competitors and make them into a single system controlled by Lebanon, N.H.-based Dartmouth, end- ing competition between the two systems and increasing healthcare costs. "Without remedies in place protecting the public from harm and ensuring the com- bined system delivers on the promised benefits, the transaction as proposed is not something that I can approve," Mr. For- mella said. Dartmouth Health CEO Joanne Conroy, MD, acknowledged that the merger, first pro- posed in January 2019, may not have made as much sense today as it did back then. "Although we disagree with, and are deeply disappointed by, the result of the regulato- ry review, we respect the process that led to this decision," Dr. Conroy said in a Friday email to employees, according to VTDigger. "But it has become clear to us that those benefits and promises that we envisioned several years ago are no longer practical and realistic in the current environment." "e parties were not able to agree on all of the terms," a spokesperson for GraniteOne told VTDigger in an email. "We reached an impasse late (ursday) aernoon and will not receive the regulatory approval we need to move forward. is outcome is dis- appointing for GraniteOne Health and its members — CMC, Huggins Hospital, and Monadnock Community Hospital. It's also disappointing for the patients and com- munities of New Hampshire. Based on the public forums we held last fall, it was clear how much the community supports our or- ganizations and recognized the benefits this combination would have provided." Dartmouth Health and Manchester, N.H.- based GraniteOne Health are canceling their proposed merger after the state At- torney General's Office said the move would violate the New Hampshire consti- tution, according to VTDigger. A May 13 report from Attorney General John Formella said the proposed merger would consolidate the two competitors and make them into a single system controlled by Lebanon, N.H.-based Dartmouth, end- ing competition between the two systems and increasing healthcare costs. "Without remedies in place protecting the public from harm and ensuring the com- bined system delivers on the promised benefits, the transaction as proposed is not something that I can approve," Mr. For- mella said. Dartmouth Health CEO Joanne Conroy, MD, acknowledged that the merger, first pro- posed in January 2019, may not have made as much sense today as it did back then. "Although we disagree with, and are deeply disappointed by, the result of the regulato- ry review, we respect the process that led to this decision," Dr. Conroy said in a Friday email to employees, according to VTDigger. "But it has become clear to us that those benefits and promises that we envisioned several years ago are no longer practical and realistic in the current environment." "e parties were not able to agree on all of the terms," a spokesperson for GraniteOne told VTDigger in an email. "We reached an impasse late (ursday) aernoon and will not receive the regulatory approval we need to move forward. is outcome is dis- appointing for GraniteOne Health and its members — CMC, Huggins Hospital, and Monadnock Community Hospital. It's also disappointing for the patients and com- munities of New Hampshire. Based on the public forums we held last fall, it was clear how much the community supports our or- ganizations and recognized the benefits this combination would have provided." n Viewpoint: FTC will be healthcare's biggest headache until 2025 By Marissa Plescia W ith the Senate's confirmation of Alvaro Bedoya to the Fed- eral Trade Commission on May 11, Democrats now have a 3-2 ma- jority in the FTC, which will likely lead to heightened scrutiny of competition in healthcare, Paul Keckley, PhD, wrote May 16 in The Keckley Report. With each commissioner serving a seven-year term, Democrats will be the majority in the FTC until at least Janu- ary 2025. If Democrats lose control of the House and the Senate in Novem- ber, one of the few cards they have to play is through the FTC, he said. With the Democratic majority, health- care organizations should prepare themselves for more transparency and regulatory scrutiny, Dr. Keckley said. "That means independent board members will be liable for oversights and willful noncompliance and management teams will be held to a higher level of accountability," Dr. Keckley said. "That means increased fines for non-compliance and calls for major reforms. That means the FTC will be a headache to healthcare organiza- tions unable to demonstrate effectively the alignment of their growth strate- gies with enhanced competition and protections for consumers." n