Beaumont, Advocate Aurora call off merger
Controversial talks drew criticism from doctors, donors and lawmakers
Beaumont Health and Advocate Aurora Health, based in Chicago, have called off merger talks after criticism from Beaumont doctors, donors, and Royal Oak’s federal and state lawmakers, among others.
The announcement Friday came just days after Royal Oak’s State Rep. Jim Ellison, State Sen. Mallory McMorrow and Congressman Andy Levin sounded a warning about the proposed merger in a joint statement.
“We continue to have a very
high regard for Advocate Aurora Health,” said John Fox, president and CEO of Beaumont Health in a statement Friday. “But, at this time, we want to focus on our local market priorities and the physicians, nurses and staff who provide compassionate, extraordinary care every day.”
Beaumont and Advocate Aurora Health mutually agreed to end merger discussions five months after signing a non-binding letter of intent, according to Beaumont’s news release.
Jim Skogsbergh, president and CEO of Advocate Aurora Health, in a statement said nothing about the cause of ending the merger deal.
“We have great respect for Beaumont Health,” he said, “and we continue to believe scale will play a critical role in advancing quality, accelerating transformation and reducing costs in the healthcare world of tomorrow.”
But it was the merger’s threat to medical care and costs that Levin, Ellison and Mallory raised in their warning issued Tuesday.
“We call on the leadership of Beaumont to do what is in the best interest of patients, not earnings, address the issues raised by medical staff concerning their ability to offer excellent care – and promptly reevaluate this proposed merger,” their statement said.
In the wake of Friday’s announcement, the lawmakers applauded the end of Beaumont’s merger talks.
“We commend Beaumont for acting in the best interest of its patients and employees and ending merger discussions with Advocate Aurora Health,” they said in a statement. “Evidence suggests that the proposed merger of these health systems might have led to higher health care costs and, potentially, worse patient outcomes. That is a risk to our constituents we were unwilling to accept.”
Discussions for the merger began in late 2019, according to Beaumont’s news release, and were put on hold after the COVID-19 pandemic spread across the Midwest.
Oakland County Executive David Coulter was among those glad to see an end to the merger effort.
“Beaumont Health halting its partnership talks with Advocate Aurora Health is the right thing to do,” Coulter said in a news release. “Beyond financial benefits, any partnership must demonstrate tangible community benefits and improved quality of healthcare for our residents not readily apparent in this proposal. I look forward to Beaumont’s renewed focus on ‘ local market priorities’ and the critical role they play in the quality of life in this region.”
Last month, donors sent a letter to Beaumont’s board of directors calling on themto address and resolve physician and nurse “dissatisfaction and the pending merger,” according to Crain’s Detroit Business Magazine.
Donors, physicians and nurses and donors have been critical of Fox, COO Carolyn Wilson and Chief Medical Officer David Wood over management decisions they claimed led to low morale, inadequate staffing, the departure of top doctors and nurses, and other issues, Crain’s reported.