Thomas Jefferson University and Temple University have agreed on a 90-day extension of the due diligence period for the purchase of Temple-owned Fox Chase Cancer Center.
“We are having extensive and productive discussions with Temple leadership about Fox Chase Cancer Center and how best to work together to make healthcare more accessible to everyone in Philadelphia,” Steve Klasko, president of Thomas Jefferson University and CEO of Jefferson Health, said in a statement. “The complexity and importance of the transaction requires additional time for assessment.”
On Jan. 10, the parties agreed on a 90-day due diligence period (The Cancer Letter, Jan 18). Now, the deadline has been extended to June 30.
No cancer center carrying an NCI designation has ever been sold on open market. Fox Chase, which has the highest level of NCI designation—that of a comprehensive cancer center—was sold to Temple in 2012 for $84 million. Jefferson has the NCI Cancer Center designation.
Any agreement Jefferson and Temple may reach would be subject to federal and state regulatory approval.
Not only is Fox Chase a comprehensive cancer center, but it’s one of the “dedicated cancer centers,” a group of 11 freestanding institutions that treat cancer and no other disease. These centers are exempt from being reimbursed based on DRGs, or Diagnosis-Related Groups, under the Prospective Payment System.
The deal, as originally discussed, also included the sale of Temple’s interest in Health Partners Plans, a Philadelphia-based HMO that serves Medicare, Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program populations in the state.
Jefferson is a rapidly growing health system that has 14 sites in downtown Philadelphia, Northern and Northeastern Philadelphia, and South Jersey. The system also has 20 network affiliates.
