MU Health, Boone Hospital lease would need state approval

The Missouri General Assembly would need to pass a bill allowing MU Health Care to operate Boone Hospital Center.

The county-owned hospital’s board of trustees announced on Tuesday that it would exclusively negotiate the lease to the hospital with MU Health Care. The hospital’s current lease with BJC Healthcare expires at the end of 2020. Trustees have courted four health care providers, including BJC and MU Health Care, as possible tenants.

Board attorney Tom Schnieder told ABC 17 News that the state government would need to pass a bill pursuant to federal antitrust law. Both MU Health Care and Boone Hospital offer similar services in the area, and their collaborating would mean a displacement of competition.

The “state-action doctrine,” or “Parker doctrine” was established by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1943. Schneider said the bill would need to articulate why the benefits of the collaboration outweigh the end of competition. The bill would also assign a supervisor of the deal to ensure those benefits are being met, Schneider said. That could be a single person or a government agency.

Because BJC Healthcare will operate Boone Hospital until 2020, Schneider said the bill could be passed anytime before then, if MU Health Care was offered the lease.

Many people at a town hall in Columbia in May said they had concerns with MU Health Care taking over Boone Hospital. The lack of competition would hurt the quality of health care in Boone County, as well as the price.

Both county and MU leaders said the real health care competition was occurring at the state level. Rather than a fight in Boone County, the hospitals could compete against systems in St. Louis and Kansas City.

Boone County Commissioner Fred Parry said he was happy to see MU Health Care get exclusive negotiating rights. He referred to the relationship as a “collaboration” rather than a merger between the two.

“I think that both hospitals are looking for a way to start at square one and to see really what the best potential is,” Parry told ABC 17 News.

For MU Health Care, the 397-bed facility would add space for their growing services. The hospital reported high numbers of births and emergency room visits this fiscal year, leading to a windfall of profits so far.

“By any metric you want to look at, we are about full capacity to the point where we’re becoming a little bit less efficient than we want it to be,” MU Health Care CEO Jonathan Curtright said.

County commissioners will ultimately get the final say on a lease. Parry said any lease he signs will need to ensure the company will honor and offer benefits to the hospital’s current employees.

“Making sure that our employees continue to enjoy the level of benefits that they receive, that their years of service are protected, and that they enjoy a culture much like they have at Boone Hospital,” Parry said.