Beth Israel Lahey Health officially launched on Friday as the result of the Massachusetts megamerger between Beth Israel Deaconess and Lahey Health.
The resulting healthcare system has more than 4,000 physicians, including more than 800 employed primary care physicians and 3,500 specialty physicians. In total, the health system has 35,000 employees at its collection of academic medical centers, community and specialty hospitals.
“With the creation of Beth Israel Lahey Health, we have an unprecedented opportunity to care for our patients and our communities in new and better ways,” said Kevin Tabb, M.D., president and CEO of Beth Israel Lahey Health in a statement. “This is just the beginning of our journey to transform health care in Massachusetts into what we know it can and should be.”
It's the conclusion of a monthslong process that included heavy scrutiny from regulators and healthcare watchdog groups.
In November, Massachusetts' attorney general gave the OK for the proposed merger between Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Lahey Health System following a number of agreements with health system officials, including a promise not exceed a seven-year price cap.
The Federal Trade Commission also voted to close its investigation of the proposed transaction (PDF).
RELATED: Massachusetts AG, Federal Trade Commission give OK to Beth Israel, Lahey megamerger
The two approvals cleared the final major hurdles facing the proposed merger, which would include 13 hospitals and significantly reshape the healthcare landscape in the eastern part of Massachusetts.
Leaders for the combined health system assured officials that the merger would improve care and bring down prices as they form a system that could rival Partners Healthcare, the largest—and priciest—provider in Massachusetts and the parent system to Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
On Friday, Tabb said the system will invest and strengthen community-based care.
It also has eight community hospitals, including specialty hospitals for orthopedics and behavioral health and comprehensive ambulatory and urgent care centers, as well as a population health enterprise aimed at addressing health disparities and public health issues like addiction and chronic disease.
It also includes a network of administrative and operational services to advance strategic, local and system-level goals, that offers expertise and standardized resources based on best practices, system officials said.