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December 21, 2008 

A Message from James J. Mongan, MD, President and CEO

You may have read a story in The Boston Globe on December 21st which makes certain claims about Partners growth and market share.  The Globe continues to assert that Partners is driving up the cost of health care in Massachusetts.  This is not accurate.  As pointed out in my November 16th message, health care costs have not been increasing in Massachusetts more rapidly than elsewhere in the country. 

The story focuses on our partnerships in suburban communities.  The story fails to acknowledge certain facts.  We ask that you consider the following:

1. Partners is building an integrated heath care delivery network.
Partners has been working to build an integrated health care system that provides our patients high quality care in the most convenient and appropriate setting, whether in the city or the suburbs.  Our network of primary care physicians, using the same electronic medical record, allows us to coordinate patient care safely and efficiently across our system.  This is no different than what is happening at academic medical centers in major cities across the country. 

2. Partnerships with suburban hospitals have preserved financially struggling institutions.
Three community hospitals, Union Hospital in Lynn, Faulkner Hospital in Jamaica Plain, and Newton-Wellesley Hospital had been struggling financially, losing a combined total of $27 million a year before establishing partnerships with us, which originated through invitations extended by these hospitals. Today, all three -- along with Salem Hospital in Salem -- are working with MGH and BWH doctors and hospitals and are serving their communities.   

These partnerships also exist in the inner city. We serve Boston-area neighborhoods through our ownership or support of 20 community health centers. Last year alone, more than 75,000 children and adults made 400,000 visits to BWH and MGH community health centers in Charlestown, Jamaica Plain, Chelsea and Revere. 

With regard to market presence, according to state data, Partners has remained approximately 22% of the eastern Massachusetts market.  Click here to see how Partners market share compares with other US News & World Report hospitals.

3. Suburban projects have been driven by both need and partnership.
North Shore Medical Center is the safety net hospital on the North Shore.  NSMC provided $60M worth of care to Medicaid, Commonwealth Care, and uninsured patients in 2007, compared to $30M at Northeast and only $20M at Lahey.  In fact, NSMC has lost $56 million since 2003 and depends on subsidies from Partners.  The new Ambulatory Care Center in Danvers builds on a long history of NSMC/MGH collaborations to extend patient care quality to outpatient services.  And 40% of the new project will be used to house an existing cancer program, which has outgrown its current site.  This project was suggested by NSMC.  It allows NSMC to continue its safety net role by stabilizing its financial platform, enabling it to compete in the market. 

Similarly, Emerson Hospital, Milford Hospital and South Shore Hospital have also invited Partners to participate in joint efforts.  In Foxboro, a fast growing area of the state where more than 30,000 of our patients live, we are trying to accommodate the desire for high quality out-patient care close to home.  These cooperative efforts have strengthened existing specialty programs or have added new patient offerings altogether.  

We expect that you may see similar stories in The Boston Globe in the coming weeks. We will continue to set the record straight as these stories appear.  In addition to this message to the community, we are running a full-page advertisement in both Boston papers. 

To review the errors and omissions from The Globe’s November 16 story on health care costs and premiums, click here.  In the coming days, we will post a similar analysis on our website concerning the December 21st story.

We deeply value the important work that goes on every day in our institutions to provide outstanding and nationally recognized patient care, to teach the next generation of physicians and caregivers, to develop research breakthroughs in the understanding and treatment of disease, and to improve the health of our most vulnerable citizens here and around the world.

Sincerely,

James J. Mongan, MD
President and CEO