Essentia Health/Marshfield Clinic Merger Off

A proposed merger between two regional health care systems has fallen through.  Essentia Health and Wisconsin-based Marshfield Clinic Health System have been in talks over a possible merger for the last two years.  But on Friday, both sides released a statement saying the merger wouldn’t happen.  According to published reports, the two sides were reportedly close to a merger six months ago.  It would have combined Essentia Health’s 14 hospitals and 78 clinics in Minnesota, North Dakota and Wisconsin–including facilities in Ada, Fosston and Detroit Lakes–with Marshfield’s eleven hospitals and over 60 clinics in Wisconsin and Michigan. But a spokesperson for Essentia Health says Marshfield’s financial situation was the primary factor in Essentia’s decision to end merger talks.  This past November, Marshfield Clinic announced it was cutting pay for leadership level positions and was pausing contributions to employee retirement plans as a way to help deal with “financial challenges.”