John Muir Health

John Muir had planned to buy out Tenet's 51% stake in San Ramon Regional Medical Center, a deal the FTC and the State of California said would give the former too much control over the local inpatient care market. John Muir Health and Tenet Healthcare have chosen to call off a hospital deal that had been contested by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the State of California, eliciting a quick victory lap from the regulators. “The FTC has scored another major healthcare win in less than a month, delivering patients in California continued access to quality, affordable healthcare services,” FTC Bureau of Competition Director Henry Liu said in a Monday statement. The $142.5 million deal would have seen nonprofit John Muir buying out the 51% stake in San Ramon Regional Medical Center held by for-profit Tenet. The former system had held a 49% interest in the 123-bed facility since 2013. The regulators filed to block the deal in November, citing a joint investigation that determined John Muir would be eliminating its primary competition for inpatient general acute care in the region—specifically, that the Walnut Creek, California-based system would control 50% of the local market due to its ownership of two other nearby hospitals. John Muir Health President and CEO Mike Thomas said shortly after the block that the organizations would be conducting a “more in-depth review of the transaction” before deciding on their next course of action. The deal’s initial announcement had highlighted electronic health record integrations, facility investments, extended population health programs and reduced administrative expenses among the purchase’s potential benefits. In new statements given to reporters, the nonprofit said the “significant money and time required to litigate can be better spent on other initiatives.” "Both Tenet and JMH remain very disappointed in the FTC's decision and strongly disagree with the assumptions and conclusions that were reached in their court submission," the nonprofit said in the statement. We maintain our shared belief that the proposed transaction would have provided substantial benefits for patients and the community." John Muir said that it and Tenant will continue to run the hospital under the existing 49-51 joint venture structure, with Tenant managing operations. With news of the deal’s demise, regulators have now filed to dismiss their case. “John Muir’s anticompetitive hospital takeover would have driven up health care costs for critical services like heart surgery, spinal surgery and maternity care. It also threatened to eliminate improvements in care driven by competition, which directly benefit patients,” the FTC’s Liu said. “Now that this transaction is terminated, John Muir and Tenet’s San Ramon Regional Medical Center can continue competing head-to-head to offer high-quality care at the best prices for Californians in the I-680 corridor.” Word of the FTC’s successful challenge comes as the agency and the Department of Justice finalized their 2023 Merger Guidelines. Regulators said the latest update takes into account “modern market realities,” such as vertical and horizontal integration, that threaten competition.

None Welcome to this week's Chutes & Ladders, our roundup of hirings, firings and retirings throughout the industry. Please submit the good news—or the bad—from your shop, and we will feature it here at the end of each week. Centene As reported earlier this week, Centene has appointed Susan Smith as its new chief operating officer. She will be tasked with leading core business operations, population health work, provider experience, the enterprise transformation office and quality. "Susan is a seasoned operator who brings extensive experience in the government-sponsored payer space," said Centene CEO Sarah London in the release. "Her operational expertise in quality and customer experience, proven track record and leadership during transformational times—coupled with her steadfast commitment to the members and communities we support—make her the right candidate for this role." Smith has worked at Centene since June as senior vice president but has spent the bulk of her career with Humana throughout the company’s Medicare and Medicaid departments. Most recently, she was the senior vice president of clinical, quality and enterprise solutions for Humana. University of Chicago Medicine Sarosh Rana, M.D., has been appointed as the University of Chicago Medicine health system’s first chief obstetrical transformation officer. She began the role Nov. 1. In the new position, she will work with the nonprofit South Side Healthy Community Organization to improve health outcomes on the south side of the city. She will also collaborate closely with safety net hospitals to improve access to obstetrical care and patient support services. Her previous efforts as SSHCO’s maternal child health physician leader helped launch the first maternal-fetal medicine/federally qualified health center model to help women with high-risk pregnancies. Rana, winner of the Bernard J. Tyson National Award for Excellence in Pursuit of Healthcare Equity last month, completed a fellowship at Brown University’s medical school. Path Mental Health Behavioral health company Path Mental Health has named several new hires to its executive leadership team. The company announced Jay Meyers as chief commercial officer, David Katcher as chief operating officer and Tracey Scraba as the organization’s first general counsel. Meyers formerly worked at Quartet Health and spent time serving in Elevance Health’s diversified business group as the company’s first chief growth officer. He will oversee payer partnership growth to expand the number of covered patients Path serves, according to a press release. Katcher served as head of global operations at Lyft and most recently worked as COO for hospitality platform AvantStay. Scraba, formerly chief privacy officer at CVS Health, has 20 years of experience in the healthcare industry, recently serving as deputy general counsel at Signify Health. > Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago has appointed Richard Lehmuth as senior vice president and chief strategy officer, effective Jan. 8. >  Weill Cornell Medicine, a prestigious graduate school in New York, has named Cathy Garzio as executive vice provost and chief operating officer, effective in February. > Duly Health and Care, an independent, multispecialty, physician-directed medical group that includes DuPage Medical Group and the South Bend Clinic, has appointed Ryan West as president of Chicagoland operations, Dana Rye as chief value-based care officer and Charleen Philips as chief accounting officer. > PointClickCare, a healthcare technology platform used by payers and providers, has named James Yersh as chief revenue officer. Travis Palmquist will transition into the role of senior vice president and general manager of emerging markets for the organization. > VCU Health, an academic medical center, has hired back Jeffrey Kim, M.D., as the health system’s chief medical information officer, effective Dec. 24. > Providence Swedish, a hospital network in Washington, has announced Elizabeth Wako, M.D., as permanent president and CEO of Swedish Health Services. > The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center has selected Mark Tamburri as executive vice president and chief legal officer, succeeding Tom McGough, who will retire at the end of the year. > ThedaCare, a health system throughout Wisconsin, has named Kori Krueger, M.D., as the organization’s newest senior vice president and president of the ThedaCare Physician Group. > HCA Florida Oak Hill Hospital has tapped Samuel Boadi to join the hospital as chief operating officer. > Elation Health, a technology platform for primary care, has selected Tom Natt as chief growth officer and Seth Cedars as general counsel. > Houston Methodist, consisting of a national academic medical center, six community hospitals and a long-term acute care hospital, has transitioned Shawn Tittle from chief medical officer and chief quality officer at Houston Methodist Baytown Hospital to senior vice president and system chief quality officer. > Wondr Health, a digital behavioral change program treating the root causes of obesity and chronic disease, has hired Greg Tracy as chief technology officer. > Mount Sinai Phillips School of Nursing in Manhattan has appointed Kimberly Glassman, Ph.D., as dean and vice president for nursing academic affairs of the Mount Sinai Health System effective Dec. 29. > Rush University System for Health in Chicago has selected Matt Walsh as executive vice president and chief operating officer effective January 2024. > Canopy Health, a joint venture originally founded by John Muir Health and UCSF Health, has announced the planned retirement of Mike Robinson as CEO. He will be replaced by Ken Wood immediately. > Nava, a benefits brokerage designed to make benefits easy for growing employers, has appointed Marshall Feigenbaum to its partner team. > Livara, a value-based musculoskeletal management solution for providers and payers, has named Rob Cohen as its newly appointed CEO. > Cincinnati Children’s has hired Peter Adebi as senior vice president of human resources and chief human resources and diversity officer, effective Jan 15. > Availity, a real-time health information network, has tapped Sean Keneally as the company’s newest COO. > Two Chairs, a behavioral health care company, has selected Justin Wu as chief operations officer and Padma Lalwani as vice president of engineering. > Equality Health, a primary care platform leveraging value-based payment models, has appointed Lawrence Green as Tennessee market president.

A federal and state investigation concluded that the deal for San Ramon Regional Medical Center would give John Muir Health over 50% of the local inpatient general acute care market, likely leading to higher prices and lower quality in the area. The nonprofit's leadership said it is considering its next steps, which could include challenging the decision in court. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has stepped in to block a California hospital deal it said will result in less competition and higher healthcare costs. Near the beginning of the year, nonprofit John Muir Health had unveiled a definitive agreement to purchase Tenet Healthcare’s majority stake in San Ramon Regional Medical Center for $142.5 million. John Muir Health has held a 49% interest in the hospital since 2013 and with the deal would be taking on full ownership and operation of the 123-bed facility.   The hospital’s primary competition for inpatient general acute care in that portion of California’s I-680 corridor is two other hospitals run by John Muir Health, the FTC wrote in a release. Placing all three centers under one roof would give the Walnut Creek, California-based system control of more than 50% of the market, the regulator said. “San Ramon Regional Medical Center has played an important role in ensuring Californians in the I-680 corridor have access to quality, affordable care for critical health care services, such as cardiac surgery and childbirth,” Henry Liu, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition, said in a release. “John Muir’s acquisition of San Ramon Medical would increase already high health care costs in the area and threaten to stall quality improvements that help advance care for all patients.” The FTC said it issued an administrative complaint and authorized a lawsuit to be filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California seeking a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction. The actions were authorized in a 3-0 vote by the FTC’s commissioners. The federal regulator said it “closely cooperated” with the California attorney general’s office during its investigation of the proposed transaction and plans for the latter to join its court filing. Specifically, the regulators allege in their legal filing that the proposed deal “would lead to higher insurance premiums, co-pays, deductibles, and other out-of-pocket costs, or reduced benefits for commercial health insurance enrollees,” the FTC said in its announcement. The commission said it plans to upload its complaint publicly “as soon as possible.” Earlier this year, John Muir Health President and CEO Mike Thomas said the organization believes that its planned acquisition was a boon for patients and providers. The system pointed to electronic health record integration, facility investments, extended community benefit and population health programs along with the elimination of duplicative administrative expenses among the benefits of bringing the hospital under John Muir Health’s wing. In a new statement, Thomas said his organization is "disappointed by the FTC’s decision, and are discussing our options and next steps, including challenging the decision in court. "We believe the proposed acquisition would benefit our community, caregivers and patients, as well as John Muir Health, San Ramon Regional Medical Center and Pleasanton Diagnostic Imaging," the latter of which was also included in the deal. John Muir Health said in its Friday statement that it and Tenet learned of the FTC's plans "to conduct a more in-depth review of the transaction" and had "submitted a large volume of documents and data, as well as expert testimony on the Bay Area health care market and letters of support from local community leaders and government officials." For now, the systems will maintain their joint venture structure, with Tenet managing the medical center's operations. “We appreciate the patience of John Muir Health, San Ramon Regional Medical Center and Pleasanton Diagnostic Imaging-affiliated employees and physicians throughout this process,” Thomas said. “Once we determine our course of action, we will communicate with all impacted audiences.”