Louisiana regulators approve LCMC Health purchase of Tulane hospitals
State regulators have approved
In a joint statement Tuesday, LCMC and Tulane announced they have finalized the partnership following approval from
The deal, first announced in October, will transfer ownership of
Though the deal is now done, patients will likely not see any immediate changes. Officials with both institutions say it's too soon to discuss a timeline for the transition to new ownership, which is expected to take 12 to 24 months.
"We do not have definite plans right now," said
Win-win
Tulane and LCMC have heralded the deal as a win-win. In addition to the
The downtown facility will be repurposed to house a new nursing program, clinical research programs and more space for students in medical fields. It's part of Tulane's broader strategy to invest, over time, some
But the deal has raised concerns in some quarters. A national nurses' union argued in a letter to Landry that closing the downtown hospital and increasing LCMC's footprint in the market could limit access to healthcare for the neediest patients and drive up costs.
The group, National Nurses United, had asked Landry to require LCMC to keep the downtown Tulane hospital open.
In a statement today, union member
Patient care will not suffer, according to Brewer, who said that, to the contrary, it will be improved under LCMC ownership.
"We are looking to grow and expand services," she said. "People are not going to have to leave for specialized services and comprehensive care. We see this as a growth opportunity."
Leverage
While the deal was not without critics, national healthcare experts say it makes sense. With healthcare costs continuing to increase, systems like LCMC that have multiple hospitals under one umbrella are in a better position to negotiate affordable pricing with large insurance companies.
"For a hospital, how you are going to get your revenues above your expenses is a very real challenge, and one of the few ways of doing that is having the ability to negotiate with an insurance company as an equal," said
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