Merging Morton Plant and Mease

 

It had been on the horizon for years, in order to survive healthcare institutions would have to form partnerships and alliances in order to be successful in the highly competitive field business of keeping people healthy.  In the early 1990's both Morton Plant and Mease hospitals were searching for an ally.  Morton Plant wanted to expand its reach and Mease was looking for an ally to assist them in attaining a more stable financial footing.  After being elected Morton Plant Hospital board chairman in 1992, Alan Bomstein opened discussions with Bill Allen of the Mease board of directors and they determined that partnership talks should be held.  Morton Plant's President Frank Murphy and Mease's new chief executive officer carried out these discussions between 1992 and 1993.  Ao community benefits study conducted by an outside agendy determined that an estimated $80 million in savings over five years to both hospitals could be achieved through a partnership.

 

In 1994 the boards of the two hospitals decided to undertake the partnership.  After a lengthy battle with the U.S. Department of Justice, Morton Plant and Mease supporters finally managed to convince the government that a partnership would not violate anti-trust statutes and they were approved for the partnership in August of 1994.  The hospitals would not be fully merged and they were restricted from sharing cost information or agreeing on pricing for basic patient services, but the partnership was in place and the business of making it all come together was at hand.