Opinion: For hospitals, breaking up is hard to do

GROW OR DIE. It's the choice facing any business — including the health care business. For Partners HealthCare, growth is now curtailed in Massachusetts — at least when it comes to acquiring hospitals. This once unstoppable network of doctors and hospitals was stopped in its expansionary tracks last January when a judge rejected a plan to allow Partners to acquire three community hospitals. The new state attorney general also threatened an antitrust suit if Partners tried to push ahead anyway. With its bricks-and-mortar growth now on hold in Massachusetts, Partners is readjusting its business model. Maybe it's time to throw it out — and de-partner Partners.