Curmudgeon's Corner

Another Major Health Care Merger?

Posted by Al Campbell on April 15, 2010

Germantown, Healthcare, Quality of Life

Is there another health care merger in our future?

I have been hearing rumors of a merger of health care organizations over the past few weeks.  Then, I read of the decision of Ford Titus, who heads the ProHealth Care organization, to retire in mid-2011 upon his 65^th birthday.

On the heels of that announcement, I have heard that Froedtert will acquire ProHealth Care, although that hasn’t been made public to my knowledge.  This is a rumor from inside one of those two organizations at this point, but it would make a lot of sense if true, and it might be among the reasons for Titus’ retirement announcement.

Aurora has been the juggernaut of health care in our area for some time.  It acquired the Advanced Healthcare franchise and has been sprouting new facilities like bean plants in a garden.  It is close to opening a new facility in Grafton.

ProHealth Care has been involved in a real struggle and has, so far, acquitted itself quite nicely.  It is taking a hit in Oconomowoc with the opening of the new Aurora facility in the Town of Summit that will draw patients away from its Oconomowoc hospital.  That will involve a reduction in patients of some 25% or more in that facility.

A coming-together of Froedtert and ProHealth Care would pretty well set the final playing field for health care in the greater-Milwaukee region.

Locally, Community Memorial Hospital and Froedtert have been affiliated for several years.  Aurora owns what used to be Advanced Healthcare while ProHealth Care owns what used to be Medical Associates.  Aurora has, so far, permitted its local physicians to admit patients to Community Memorial in the Menomonee Falls/Germantown area although that was supposedly a limited-time provision when the acquisition was announced.

ProHealth had not, to my knowledge, required that Medical Associates’ Menomonee Falls docs change their admittance patterns although some of that may have been happening without public knowledge.

This, if true, will again require some changes for the people in the greater-Falls/Germantown area.  Further lines will be drawn.  Not all insurance plans will include both organizations since each will be looking for a unique position and will be willing to provide deeper discounts to achieve those ends.

When elephants dance, the mice have to be wary.