Aurora, Advocate clear merger hurdle

Aurora Health Care and Advocate Health Care have cleared the final regulatory review needed for their proposed merger and are on track to merge on April 1.

The Wisconsin Office of the Commissioner of Insurance approved the proposed merger on Thursday. The merger also has been cleared by the Federal Trade Commission and the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board.

The merger, announced in December, would combine the largest health systems in Wisconsin and Illinois and create the 10th-largest nonprofit health system in the country, with operations that run from Bloomington, Ill., to Marinette.

The combined health systems would have annual revenue of $11 billion, 27 hospitals and almost 70,000 employees.

“We’re full steam ahead,” Jim Skogsbergh, president and chief executive officer of Advocate, said in a statement. “A team of leaders from both systems have developed a comprehensive integration plan that will allow us to accelerate our efforts on safety, health outcomes, consumer experience and cost while delivering value for the patients, communities and employers who count on us.”

“Our merger represents a tremendous opportunity to elevate the strengths of two great organizations to shape a better future for those we serve,” said Nick Turkal, a physician and president and chief executive officer of Aurora. “We are excited to move forward on our commitment to leading the change and building a model of health care that is truly transformational.”

Skogsbergh and Turkal will be co-chief executives of the merged system, which will be named Advocate Aurora Health.

The combined systems will have a board consisting of an equal number of members from Advocate and Aurora and initially will maintain dual headquarters in Downers Grove, Ill., and Milwaukee.