SPRINGFIELD — Leaders of Mercy Medical Center and Baystate Health are in talks that could result in an acquisition or merger of the two leading Springfield hospitals.
Though the institutions declined to comment, two people briefed on the negotiations said this week that discussions are ongoing.
One source told The Republican that a deal was still on track as recently as one month ago.
The nature of a deal, and its impact on employees and services — or if it will even happen — is yet to be seen.
Spokespeople for both Baystate and Trinity Health of New England, which owns Mercy Medical Center, declined to comment on the possibility of a merger or acquisition.
Dr. Robert Roose, president of Community Hospitals for Trinity Health of NewEngland, did not respond to calls and text messages seeking comment on the status of negotiations.
The two people who confirmed the existence of talks between Baystate and Mercy declined to be identified. Neither is authorized to speak for the institutions. But both indicated they have direct knowledge of the status of the possible business combination.
The Massachusetts Nurses Association last month formally asked the owner of Mercy Medical Center if the Springfield hospital is for sale.
Trinity Health New England's answer, according to documents provided by MNA spokesman Joe Markman, left the door open to the possibility of a transaction.
"Mercy Medical Center looks at opportunities in the marketplace in the normal course of business to support our mission of providing exceptional health care in our communities," Trinity responded during contract negotiations with the nurses union in April.
"We are always exploring potential partnerships and collaborations with other providers that we think would improve the delivery of health care in our community," the institution told the union. "There is nothing for us to share at this time."
Baystate Medical Center. July 29, 2025. (Douglas Hook / The Republican)Douglas Hook
A spokeswoman for the state Department of Public Health said Tuesday that it has not received any notice regarding a potential acquisition of Mercy Medical Center by Baystate Health.
Because the institutions are nonprofits, any deal would face review by the Attorney General's Office. A spokesperson for the AG's office declined to comment when asked whether it is reviewing a possible transaction.
The nurses union, which has 385 members in its bargaining unit at Mercy, asked again a week ago, and an executive denied a sale was taking place. "Despite the denials, we are concerned about a sale and the future of Mercy as a full-service hospital," Markman said.
Mercy, a 182-bed acute care hospital, is considered the medical center of choice for people living in Springfield's poorest communities. Springfield area elected officials told The Republican on background that they are concerned about maintaining health care access should the current hospital landscape change.
They fear cutbacks at Mercy would send people — especially low-income people who depend on Medicare and Medicaid — to other area hospitals that are themselves overstressed.
The resulting domino effect could harm health care all over the region, they say.
Mercy and Baystate, by numbers
State data shows that more than 1,000 ambulance trips a month end at Mercy Medical Center and its emergency room. Baystate Medical Center gets more than three times as many, as it's the only top-level trauma center Western Massachusetts.
Including ambulance trips, Mercy had 46,000 visits to its emergency room in fiscal 2023. Baystate Medical Center had 102,000 emergency room visits in that same period.
Center for Health Information and Analysis data from 2023 shows that Mercy gets nearly 80% of its patient revenue from public payers Medicare and Medicaid. Hospitals with 63% of their revenue from these sources are considered "high public payer" and at risk.
Baystate Medical Center is in virtually the same boat at 72.6%. That means that seven out of 10 people who receive care at Baystate have their bills paid by the government, and sharply lower amounts than the institution would like to charge.
But Baystate has a bigger cushion. Baystate Medical Center alone has an operating margin of 5.4%. As a system including its other hospitals, Baystate Health has a 0.2% profit margin on $1.7 billion in revenue over the first five months of the year, CHIA said. That profit was $4.2 million.
Aside from being the region's largest provider of health care, Baystate Health is also one of its biggest employers, with 13,000 people on the payroll. It has more than 900 beds across its five hospitals.
Mercy had total revenue of $239 million for a portion of its fiscal year, CHIA reports, but expenses of $252.7 million. Mercy also reported a $13 million loss for the year through May, according to CHIA .
And the pressures are expected to mount. The recently passed federal tax and policy bill is expected to eventually cost 326,000 Massachusetts residents their health insurance. That's 5% of the population.
The state's health insurers also sought higher rates this summer, citing, among other things, consolidation among health care providers. Higher rates mean more patients who are uninsured.
Trinity growth and change
Earlier this year, Trinity Health outsourced emergency room services to a for-profit California company, Vituity , raising complaints within Mercy's workforce and causing resignations .
Markman, the nurses' union spokesman, said membership is reminded of Trinity Health's 2021 sale of Providence Behavioral Health Hospital in Holyoke — once known as Providence Hospital — to a for-profit operator for $4 million.
It's now the Mira Vista Behavioral Health Center.
The former Providence Hospital on Route 5 in Holyoke, as seen on Feb. 25, 2021. (Don Treeger / The Republican, File)
"The planning for the sale of Providence Hospital happened in secret between Trinity, the state, and for-profit Health Partners New England until a done deal was announced with little notice," Markman said.
The Sisters of Providence founded Mercy in 1874 as a "House of Mercy." A string of mergers in recent decades has put the institution in out-of-town hands. Sisters of Providence Health System merged into Catholic Health East in 1998.
Catholic Health East merged with Trinity Health in 2013. St. Francis Care in Connecticut also merged with the larger entity, forming Trinity Health of New England in 2015.
Trinity Health New England also includes Johnson Memorial in nearby Stafford Springs, Connecticut.
Read the original article on MassLive .
