Chamber Against Partners Expansion In MetroWest
The MetroWest Chamber of Commerce has asked state Attorney General Martha Coakley to review Newton-Wellesley Hospital’s proposed $17.5 million outpatient medical center in Framingham, specifically its impact on the MetroWest tax base and MetroWest Medical Center.
Boston-based Partners Healthcare Systems owns Newton-Wellesley Hospital among several others.
Chamber President and CEO A. Theodore Welte’s letter to Coakley says that the hospital’s proposal would duplicate services already provided by MetroWest Medical Center while raising the cost of health care services in the region. Welte said the project could even drive MetroWest Medical Center out of business.
Government’s Role
Coakley has expanded her oversight of hospitals since she was elected in 2007, and has said her office will watch the continued expansion of Partners Healthcare. Her office is also investigating whether Partners and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts struck a deal in 2000 that led to higher reimbursements to Partners and at other large hospitals in the state.
A spokesman for Coakley said it is within the attorney general’s purview to make sure nonprofits are fulfilling their charitable missions and whether hospitals violate antitrust or competition laws.
In his letter, Welte stresses that the playing field is not level when it comes to Partners Healthcare.
“We support equal competition in the marketplace; however, this is a regulated marketplace, not the open market. The competition represented by Partners has a clear advantage in reimbursements and has not shown any commitment to the community,” Welte wrote in his letter.
Newton-Wellesley Hospital officials said the proposed Framingham facility will give them more space to relieve scheduling backups for minor surgeries and procedures. The hospital cannot expand on its Newton campus, officials said.
Framingham selectmen have also asked that the hospital withdraw its proposal, but Newton-Wellesley Hospital is going ahead with the new facility.
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