November 10, 1999
Baylor calls off merger
___DALLAS--Baylor Health Care System called off its pending marriage with Texas Health Resources Nov. 1.
___The alliance, which would have created one of the largest non-profit health care corporations in the country, doesn't seem as wise today as it did just a few months ago when the proposal was announced, executives of both entities said.
___The alliance had been touted earlier as a means of saving money by combining back-office functions and create a better platform to negotiate with doctors and insurers.
___However, continuing changes in the health care field now make the proposed merger impractical, officials of both systems declared.
___They admitted that the failure of other large-scale health-care mergers in recent months made them more skittish.
___"The environment in which we are operating has only one constant, and that is change," said Douglas Hawthorne, president of Texas Health Resources.
___"The Balanced Budget Act and the continuing changes in managed care have caused all of us to rethink medicine and the delivery systems for quality care," added Dale Jones, chairman of the board for Baylor. "Right now, we all see the wisdom in the preservation of two strong health care systems for North Texas."
___News of the failed merger made front-page headlines in the Dallas Morning News, signifying the impact the merger of the state's two largest non-profit hospital corporations would have had.
___"We have learned that our common interests give us the ability to focus on critical issues," said Boone Powell Jr., president of Baylor Health Care System. "Those issues include the goals of preserving quality, choices and access and cost-effective care for our patients."
___The merged corporations would have been called Southwest Health System.Contents/ Masthead / Why We're Here / Links / Archive / E-mail us/ SUBSCRIBE!