The War For Suburban Patients Is On | Boston Parnters continues its push into MetroWest
Photo/Courtesy MetroWest Medical Center
Andrei Soran, MetroWest Medical Center CEO.
Newton-Wellesley Hospital’s plans to establish a $17.5 million outpatient surgery center in Framingham has a least one local hospital executive crying foul over concerns that Newton-Wellesley’s parent company, the Boston-based Partners Healthcare System, is going to steal valuable suburban patients from existing local providers.
“They’re using a loophole in the regulations to continue to expand beyond their communities,” said Andrei Soran, CEO of MetroWest Medical Center, whose Framingham campus is less than 3 miles from Newton-Wellesley’s proposed outpatient center at 500 Cochituate Road. “I am sure they could find a nice piece of real estate in Newton.”
Under The Limit
The so-called loophole Soran is referring to is a state Department of Public Health regulation that requires hospitals to undergo a “determination of need” review if they plan any new projects with a budget of more than $25 million.
Because the proposed Framingham outpatient center has a budget of $17.5 million it doesn’t have to go through that review, and needs only local approvals to move forward. There is legislation proposed that would reduce that limit to $5 million.
Partners is a health care behemoth created by the merger of Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. With its size and reimbursement rates, the system can provide keen competition as it moves westward from Boston and into Central Massachusetts.
MetroWest Medical is owned by the for-profit Vanguard Health System, which also owns St. Vincent Hospital in Worcester.
Although Soran has been a vocal critic of Partners’ continued expansion into MetroWest, the state’s other health care behemoth — UMass Memorial — isn’t commenting. “Though I understand the wish to include localized reaction, UMass Memorial really prefers not to speculate on another health care provider’s plans. I don’t have anyone able to comment on this one,” said Alison Duffy, spokeswoman for the UMass Memorial system and its medical school, in an e-mail response inquiry for comment.
Last week, in response to complaints from MetroWest Medical, Framingham selectman voted unanimously to ask Newto-Wellesley to withdraw its application for the outpatient center. The hospital did not return phone calls from the WBJ seeking reaction to the vote prior to deadline.
Before the selectman’s vote, Newton-Wellesley Hospital and Partners said they were just trying to serve existing patients with the Framingham project.
“This is not about competition with MetroWest. The people who will be treated at the new center are people who would have come to Newton-Wellesley anyway. It is to give patients access to care in a more timely manner,” said Rachel Kagno, Newton-Wellesley’s head of public affairs.
The plans for the Framingham outpost call for four operating rooms for both orthopedics and gastrointestinal surgeries.
Kagno went on to say that Newton-Wellesley considered 14 other locations before settling on 500 Cochituate Road, the site of a now closed CompUSA store.
Partners already has a network firmly established in MetroWest through the physicians group Charles River Associates as well as its alliance with the Milford Regional Medical Center.
Donald Thieme, executive director of the Massachusetts Council of Community Hospitals says Partners is facing increasing pressure to find new patients.
“They (Partners) want the patients and they’re going farther and farther into the suburbs to feed the beast. Mass General is building 150 new beds downtown. How are they going to fill all those beds? They have to create referral patterns farther and farther out,” he said.
But will these steps into MetroWest mean the next frontier is Worcester, squarely to compete with the UMass system?
No, according to Richard W. Copp Jr., Partners’ director of communications.
“There are no plans for any new projects,” he said. “Our capital spending over the next five years is has been reduced by 40 percent or $1 billion.”
Thieme also speculated that Partners would be less likely to go head-to-head with UMass and its chain of hospitals.
“UMass is very strong and has a very cost-effective operation.”
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