Jun. 30—Exeter Health Resources, including Exeter Hospital, Core Physicians and Rockingham Visiting Nurses Association & Hospice, will officially merge Saturday with Beth Israel Lahey Health (BILH) to provide a broader and deeper network of community-based care in southern New Hampshire and the Seacoast.
The merger was approved Friday in Merrimack Superior Court, after it was scrutinized and endorsed in mid-June by the state Attorney General and the AG's Charitable Trust and Consumer Protection and Antitrust units.
"We are pleased to see that the court has signed off on this transaction," New Hampshire Attorney General John M. Formella said by email on Friday. "The way is now clear for the transaction to more forward. This promises to result in significant capital improvements to Exeter Hospital," continuation of labor and delivery services on site for 10 years at least and the future expansion of care for people experiencing acute psychiatric needs on the Seacoast, Formella said. The merger is expected to bring 10 or more mental health crisis or DRF beds to Exeter Hospital.
"We appreciate Beth Israel Lahey Health's willingness to agree to reasonable restrictions upon its contracting and other business practices designed to promote healthy competition, which benefits New Hampshire consumers," Formella wrote.
"By joining BILH, Exeter will secure local access to expanded not-for-profit health care services for generations to come and create more sustainable choices for health care consumers and purchasers," Exeter Health stated Friday in a news release.
The agreement calls for a $375 million capital commitment from BILH to Exeter Health and $10 million over 10 years to the state for projects that benefit health care consumers — including a research arm that will analyze, monitor and report on the state's health care market.
In 2018, Exeter explored an affiliation with Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston that would have brought Wentworth-Douglass Hospital in Dover into the fold — but the Attorney General's Office blocked the deal in 2019 over concerns it would decrease competition for hospital care on the Seacoast, and lead to higher prices for patients.
Roughly two weeks ago, the Attorney General's Office gave the green light to Exeter Health joining forces with BILH, which includes research and regional hospitals and clinics in Boston and northeastern Massachusetts.
According to the Attorney General's Office, sufficient safeguards are in place to protect consumers and ensure transparency.