Regional News/South: Baylor Health Care System merges with Scott & White and other news

DALLAS—The biggest not-for-profit healthcare player in Texas is now Baylor Scott & White Health, a system formed last week when Baylor Health Care System and Scott & White Healthcare consummated a long-planned merger. The organization has 43 hospitals, including joint ventures, and combined revenue of $5.9 billion, based on unaudited 2013 figures. The system spans 24 counties from the northern suburbs of Dallas to Brenham, about 80 miles northwest of Houston. The deal—which took 10 months to complete after the letter of intent was signed—underscores the consolidation underway in healthcare as hospitals, physicians and insurance companies race to prepare for changes in healthcare policy. “Healthcare has been a fragmented industry but is beginning to undergo rapid consolidation in the face of reform,” Scott & White told potential bondholders in documents. Consolidation and growth are motivated by a number of factors, including economics of scale to reduce cost, access to capital, access to covered lives to control risk in population health management and to maintain industry influence.” Growing organically won't be enough, Scott & White said at that time. “Mergers with carefully selected partners with aligned missions will be required if we are to achieve the scale necessary to compete in the future.” Joel Allison, who was Baylor's CEO, is CEO of the new system. Scott & White CEO Dr. Robert Pryor is its president, chief operating officer and chief medical officer.