Dive Brief:
- The board of Michigan's largest health system, Beaumont Health, has yet to set a date for a final vote on a proposed merger with Illinois' largest health system, Advocate Aurora Health.
- "At this time, we are focused on meeting with our physicians, employees and community leaders to listen to them and answer their questions," Beaumont said in a statement after reports surfaced that the vote was being delayed and that doctors had signed a petition opposing the deal.
- Advocate Aurora sought to cast continued confidence in the deal, noting the system believes "that this partnership would allow us to strengthen and align our purposes."
Dive Insight:
As the pandemic continues to grip the nation, it's unclear how mergers and acquisitions will shake out among health systems. Kaufman Hall, a consultant group, said the second quarter did not dampen M&A activity as much as some analysts had initially expected.
For Beaumont, it already scrapped plans earlier this year to merge with Ohio-based Summa Health, citing the COVID-19 pandemic and the uncertainty surrounding it.
The system argued that concerns from physicians centered around local issues and not the potential merger with Advocate Aurora, a much larger partner for Beaumont than Summa. The Illinois-based system generated revenue of $12.8 billion last year, significantly greater than Summa's $1.4 billion.
"While many of the potential concerns raised are local hospital specific and unrelated to the proposed partnership, our top priority right now is listening to our physicians, staff and community who we value so greatly," Beaumont's statement said Monday.
In June, the two Midwestern systems signed a non-binding letter of intent to explore a deal.
Any potential deal would include equal governance from Beaumont, Advocate and Aurora. Advocate and Aurora merged in 2018.
Beaumont generates about $4.7 billion in annual revenue and operates eight hospitals and 150 other sites in Michigan, while Advocate Aurora's footprint spans the Wisconsin-Illinois border, operating almost 30 hospitals.