Give and take

I wrote below about the difficult policy issues faced by the Attorney general in the review of the proposed acquisition of the Caritas Christi hospital system by the Cerberus private equity firm, giving a more detailed example of one such issue here. In today's Boston Globe, Rob Weisman writes of a letter sent by several labor leaders to the Attorney General, refuting the points raised by several competing hospitals that wish to impose restrictions on the transaction. You can read the letter here.

Are the points raised by the other hospitals "simply [to] slow down any merger as a way to preserve their market share and to disadvantage Caritas," as asserted by the union leaders? Or, do the hospitals' arguments raise legitimate public interest concerns?

It is great to see the matter debated openly and completely, and the Globe provides an important public service when it posts the letter itself in addition to writing a summary story. Given the unprecedented scale of this proposed ownership shift, we are sure to see lots more give and take over the coming months.