Partners and Hallmark drop deal talk: I'm quoted

Partners HealthCare and Hallmark Health System have called off merger talks. See (In face of opposition, Partners unlikely to expand further in Mass.) in the Boston Globe. This is not too surprising, considering the pushback Partners has received from the Health Policy Commission, Attorney General's Office among others.Health Policy Commission chairman Stuart Altman told the Globe:

"We're not opposed to thoughtful consolidation or restructuring." But plans "really need to be based on improving quality and access, and not just a thinly veiled attempt to raise prices."

Ouch.I'm quoted as well:

“Partners is in a new era,” said David E. Williams, president of the Boston consulting firm, Health Business Group. “What the regulators and the Health Policy Commission are signaling is that they don’t want Partners to grow by acquisition.”

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By healthcare business consultant David E. Williams, president of Health Business Group.