State panel puts a hold on hospital partnership

Dana-Farber/Beth Israel wanted 300bed, $1.68b facility

The Massachusetts Health Policy Commission on Thursday called for additional review of a planned partnership between the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Beth Israel Lahey Health, keeping the affiliation and a proposed 300-bed hospital on ice for now.

By a unanimous voice vote, the panel chose to proceed with a cost and market impact review for the planned Dana-Farber/Beth Israel collaboration and the cancer institute’s split with its longtime partner in clinical care, Brigham & Women’s Hospital.

The panel has not ordered such a review since the 2019 merger of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Leahy Health, David Seltz, the commission’s executive director, said during the livestreamed meeting.

The proposed partnership would include a 300-bed, $1.68 billion new hospital intended to address the rising number of cancer cases as the population ages.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kate Walsh told the panel that Dana-Farber’s breakup with Brigham and alliance with Beth Israel Leahy would shake up the market for adult cancer services in the state. Dana Farber has the largest network of oncologists and affiliations with many other health care providers in the state.

“Our assessment is that the proposed transaction is likely to have a very significant impact on the market for oncology services in Massachusetts, with likely impacts on health care costs, quality, access, and equity, as the parties also acknowledge,” Walsh said.

The review will examine the potential effects of the proposed affiliation on patient costs, quality of care, the function of the health care market, and health equity and access. It will take at least 185 days before a final report is released, Walsh said.

The assessment will overlap in time with a review of the hospital proposal from the Department of Public Health, which will determine whether the additional cancer beds are needed and the costs to the health care system.

“We look forward to working with Dana Farber and Beth Israel to understand and assess this proposal’s impact on health care cost, quality, and access for patients and to provide that assessment to other state agencies and the public,” Deborah Devaux, the Health Policy Commission’s chair, said in a statement.