OHSU and Legacy Health have mutually agreed to walk away from a deal that would have combined the two health systems.

Last August, OHSU had agreed to acquire Legacy’s eight hospitals and $3 billion in assets, with a promise to invest $1 billion in upgrades to Legacy’s facilities.

“After careful consideration of the evolving operating environment, the organizations have determined that the best way to meet the needs of the communities they serve is to move forward as individual organizations,” an OHSU spokesperson wrote in an email.

The statement does not detail why the acquisition was called off.

Labor unions had backed the deal, which included two years of protection for their members.

However, the proposed merger faced significant public opposition, primarily over concerns that the combined system would hold a monopoly over high-level specialty care in the Portland metro area.

OHSU leaders have said that acquiring Legacy would help the organization solve a lack of capacity and space that has led to some of the longest wait times for specialty care in the country.

Last month, a community review board, charged with weighing whether the deal was in the public interest, concluded that it would likely lead to higher prices for care and recommended that state regulators block it. Public comment has also been heavily weighed against it.

Oregon’s Health Care Market Oversight program has the power to review any major health care transactions and can disapprove deals it determines jeopardize access to health care. Regulators were in the middle of a comprehensive review of the deal when OHSU announced it was being terminated.

This story will be updated.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2025/05/05/ohsu-legacy-merger/