US: New Hampshire AG blocks hospital deal over antitrust concerns

Partners HealthCare’s plan to further its expansion into New Hampshire ran into a roadblock on Friday, September 20, with the Granite State’s attorney general, Gordon MacDonald, saying the acquisition would violate state antitrust laws.

In May 2018, Partners’ flagship Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) announced that it planned to acquire Exeter Health Resources in New Hampshire. Plans called for Exeter to merge with Wentworth-Douglass Hospital, which MGH acquired in 2017, forming a new non-profit system for New Hampshire’s Seacoast region.

Last week, the antitrust division issued a notice of intent to halt the transaction over concerns of antitrust violations. The charitable trusts unit subsequently issued a report Friday, September 20, objecting to the proposed transaction, noting that if the hospitals resolve concerns with the antitrust division, it can refile its submission to charitable trusts.

“Our most important duty is to protect the public and we will not hesitate to use the enforcement tools available to us to do so,” MacDonald said in a statement. “New Hampshire patients already pay some of the highest prices for health care in the country. Based on our investigation, we have concluded that this transaction implicates our laws protecting free and fair competition and therefore threatens even higher health care costs to be borne by New Hampshire consumers.”

In a release, hospital officials said they expect to continue conversations with the attorney general on the benefits of the transaction to ultimately resolve the concerns.

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