Upstate, Crouse hospitals ready to break silence on merger, discuss deal with public

Upstate Golisano Children's Hospital

The Golisano Children's Hospital opened in 2009 on Irving Avenue in Syracuse on the site where the former Syracuse Psychiatric Hospital stood until its demolition in 1990. The cupola of nearby Crouse Hospital can be seen to the right. (Rick Moriarty | rmoriarty@syracuse.com) SYRSYR

Syracuse, N.Y. — After remaining silent for nearly four months, officials of Upstate and Crouse hospitals plan to discuss their proposed acquisition and merger at two public meetings later this month.

“We are happy to engage with the community as this process moves forward,” Dr. Mantosh Dewan, president of Upstate Medical University, said in a prepared statement released today. “Now that the parties have filed formal applications, we are excited to share more information with the public and hear from our local community.”

The meetings will be 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Aug. 15 at North Syracuse Junior High School, 5353 Taft Road, North Syracuse and Aug. 18 at the Southwest Community Center, 401 South Ave., Syracuse. Doors will open at 5 p.m.

Upstate and Crouse said in the statement they are still unable to address some issues related to the acquisition, due to the ongoing regulatory review by the state Health Department and state Attorney General. The hospitals said it may take several months to get necessary regulatory approvals.

The hospitals announced on April 14 a proposal for Upstate, a state hospital, to acquire Crouse, an independent nonprofit, and merge it into Upstate’s system. That same day they filed a certificate of need with the state Health Department to start the review process.

The combined entity would have more than 13,000 employees and give Upstate a 71% share of the Syracuse inpatient hospital market. If approved, the deal would leave Syracuse with two hospital systems: Upstate and St. Joseph’s.

Upstate and Crouse have not disclosed financial terms of the proposed deal or said if taxpayer dollars will be used to help pay for it.

The hospitals have refused to answer questions about the deal or provide syracuse.com | The Post-Standard with copies of documents they have filed with the state as part of the approval process. They have also disclosed little information to employees about the proposal.

Last month, the hospitals took the unusual step of requesting a certificate of public advantage from the state in connection with the proposed merger.

If the state grants that application, it would give the hospitals immunity from federal antitrust scrutiny. That would block the Federal Trade Commission from reviewing the proposed merger to determine if it might lead to higher prices, lower quality of care and other negative consequences for patients.

It if were to find those potential problems, the federal agency could block the merger.

The move to evade federal scrutiny comes at a time when the Biden administration has been urging the FTC to be more aggressive about investigating hospital mergers.

The secrecy surrounding the proposal and the effort by Upstate and Crouse to block federal scrutiny of the merger has triggered criticism from state elected officials, health experts, consumer advocates and an Upstate union leader.

James T. Mulder covers health. Have a news tip? Contact him at (315) 470-2245 or jmulder@syracuse.com

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