The health systems agreed to certain conditions put forward by the states to receive approval for their union.
Northwell Health and Nuvance Health have the blessing of their states to join and create a 28-hospital health system.
Attorneys general for Connecticut and New York agreed with the hospital operators to several conditions over the next five years, allowing Northwell and Nuvance to clear a significant hurdle in their pursuit of a merger.
The systems, which announced their move in February, still need approval from the Connecticut Office of Health Strategy and the New York State Department of Health to complete the deal.
The conditions Northwell and Nuvance agreed to are:
- Strengthening and investing in labor and delivery services at Sharon Hospital for five years after the merger is completed.
- Preserving services and staffing at Putnam Hospital for one year after merging and providing notice to New York’s attorney general office of any changes to services for a period of five years.
- Investing to improve Nuvance’s IT infrastructure, data security, and electronic medical records system within three years, expected to cost over $200 million.
- Negotiate rates for reimbursement with payers independently for the New York and Connecticut facilities.
“Miles and minutes matter when it comes to labor and delivery, and I am pleased that Northwell has committed to preserving affordable, lifesaving care—especially maternity care—for Western Connecticut,” William Tong, attorney general for Connecticut, said in a statement. “This is a strong, enforceable agreement for healthcare access in Connecticut.”
When Northwell and Nuvance agreed to merge, they billed the move as mutually beneficial. It extends Northwell’s presence to Connecticut and gives financially troubled Nuvance much-needed capital to keep its hospitals open.
For fiscal year ending September 30, 2023, Nuvance reported an operating loss of $164.2 million and a net loss of $121.5 million.
The attorneys general stated that any anticompetitive effect of the merger would be minimal and outweighed by benefits such as maintaining access to healthcare.
“Nuvance is in a precarious financial situation,” the attorneys general wrote. “Closure or further reduction in care at Nuvance hospitals could substantially harm patient access to quality local healthcare in western Connecticut and the Hudson Valley of New York.”
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