Massachusetts' largest healthcare network has taken its first step into the New Hampshire health market by purchasing Wentworth-Douglass Hospital.
Wentworth-Douglass in Dover and Mass. General Hospital in Boston have been clinical partners since 2008, and both say the acquisition will give the New Hampshire hospital access to more specialized doctors.
Mass. General is the largest hospital in Massachusetts, and it's one of many hospitals owned by Partners Healthcare - a massive company that has consolidated market share in Massachusetts and been investigated by the federal government for allegedly driving up the price of healthcare.
In 2015, Partners backed away from buying two more Massachusetts hospitals after regulators raised concerns it could further consolidate the company's market share in the state. At that time, Partners said it planned to look beyond the Bay State to expand further.
Wentworth-Douglass is the first hospital Partners has bought outside Massachusetts.
