Rex Healthcare executives are enlisting the help of employees, physicians and patients as they try to fend off WakeMed's unsolicited offer to buy their hospital for $750 million.

In an email to doctors, Rex CEO David Strong urged them to tell patients who ask that they can support Rex by writing letters to the editor, and posting their views on personal blogs and social media sites such as Facebook or Twitter.

Also, "patients can email, write or call their legislators ... and explain that a takeover of Rex Healthcare would have significant negative consequences for our county and state," Strong wrote. The email includes contact information for the Wake County delegation of the General Assembly.

"We believe any acquisition of Rex Healthcare would require legislation or some similar type of involvement from the state," Strong wrote.

WakeMed announced last week it is offering $750 million to buy Raleigh rival Rex from the UNC Health Care System. Rex and UNC officials have said that Rex isn't for sale, but the UNC Health board is meeting this afternoon to discuss the offer.

Don't expect the Duke University Health System to jump into a bidding war for Rex Healthcare.

Victor Dzau, CEO of the Duke health system, didn't dismiss the possibility outright, but said that Duke is taking a very careful approach of using resources to expand its network of facilities and providers.

"Developing the right network is very important to us," Dzau said in a phone interview. "With health-care reform, there are many moving parts. Any opportunity has to fit into a long-term plan. ... We're not going to be distracted by this or that."

WakeMed's surprise, and hostile, offer on Thursday to buy cross-Raleigh rival Rex from the UNC Health Care System for $750 million fueled speculation that other bidders could emerge. UNC officials have said Rex isn't for sale, but that they will consider WakeMed's offer carefully.

UNC's top executive issued an official response this afternoon rejecting WakeMed's unsolicited offer to buy rival Rex Healthcare for $750 million.

The UNC Health Care System bought Rex in 2000 for $290 million, and is using the Raleigh-based hospital system to expand its operations in Wake County

Here is the prepared statement from UNC President Tom Ross:
 
"Today I received a letter from the CEO and the board chair of WakeMed proposing to purchase Rex Healthcare and all its assets from the UNC Health Care System for $750 million.  The letter offers few specifics and leaves many unanswered questions.
 
UNC Health Care and the UNC School of Medicine have a three-part mission:  providing high-quality medical care to citizens from all over North Carolina, regardless of their ability to pay; conducting cutting-edge research that improves patient treatment and care; and educating the next generation of physicians. 

Carrying out those core responsibilities in today’s complex world requires that we have strong partnerships with a wide range of schools, hospitals, researchers, physicians, and patients. 

That is why Rex and Chatham Hospital joined the UNC Health Care System, why we are expanding our medical school training in Charlotte and Asheville, and why we have a network of cancer researchers and clinicians throughout the state.
 
In this uncertain health care environment, it is critically important that we maintain a long-term vision for the UNC Health Care System that extends beyond the current budget crisis. 

Click read more to read the remainder of Ross' statement.

WakeMed leaders delivered their official $750 million offer to buy rival hospital Rex Healthcare to UNC president Thomas Ross this morning.

WakeMed contends that buying its cross-town rival Rex from the UNC Health Care System would help improve patient care in Wake County and beyond, reduce costs and provide a much-needed cash infusion for the parent UNC system and the state. WakeMed is also trying to defend its Wake County turf from what it's said are "predatory" expansion tactics by UNC Health.

But the hostile takeover bid faces tough hurdles. UNC Health and Rex officials say they're not interested in a sale. Such a deal could raise antitrust concerns.

And while WakeMed has been seeking support for a deal from Gov. Bev Perdue and state lawmakers, several legislators said this morning that they don't think selling Rex will solve the state's financial problems.

Senate leader Phil Berger said he has not looked at all the implications, but "it's something we need to be very careful about."

"There are a number of folks in the Senate who think it's a bad idea," said the Eden Republican. "That proposal would have a ways to go in the Senate."

WakeMed, Wake County's largest hospital, will stop giving out formula samples and pacifiers, in an effort to win a "Baby Friendly" designation.

Critics have long complained that by giving out free formula samples and diaper bags provided by formula companies, hospitals discourage new mothers from breastfeeding.

By seeking to be the first Triangle hospital given the Baby Friendly designation from the World Health Organization and the United Nations Children's Fund, WakeMed is hoping to stand out from local rivals in the baby business, including Rex Healthcare.

WakeMed's new, no-formula policy at its Raleigh and Cary hospitals takes effect Sunday, which is Mother's Day.

Three hospital systems will submit proposals with state regulators today, seeking permission to expand in Raleigh, Cary and Holly Springs.

WakeMed, Rex Healthcare and Novant Health will file so-called Certificate of Need applications, vying to win approval to add 101 new hospital beds that regulators have determined Wake County will need to keep up with increasing demand.

For patients, the expansions will provide additional medical services. For the hospitals, new inpatient beds provide an important source of future revenue. For this region, the projects will provide an economic boost, creating construction work during a slow time, and then long-term, relatively stable health-care jobs.

The bids are due this afternoon. State analysts will review the proposals during the next five months based on factors such as cost, quality of care and access to care.

The initial decision, expected in September, will likely be appealed by the losing hospitals and the legal brawl could drag on for years. 

Nearly two years after winning regulatory approval for Wake County's fifth hospital, WakeMed is moving ahead with plans to expand its medical campus in North Raleigh.

The Raleigh-based health system postponed construction of WakeMed North Hospital when the economy cooled and officials turned their attention to other expansion projects, including a $99 million patient tower and children's hospital at its main campus.

WakeMed will announce today that it expects to break ground on the 61-bed hospital focused on women's services this fall and open it in late 2013.

"We shuffled several projects last year, but the economy is coming around, we think," said WakeMed CEO Bill Atkinson. "The timing is very good" because the weaker construction market has reduced costs for materials and labor.

Antitrust regulators have expanded a probe of Blue Cross health insurance plans' contracts with hospitals to several more states, including North Carolina, the Wall Street Journal reports.

The investigation is looking into whether Blue Cross plans forced hospitals to sign contracts that stifle competition from rival insurers and raise prices for patients. The so-called "most-favored nation" clauses have been a focus of a U.S. Justice Department lawsuit filed last fall against Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan.

The federal investigators have sent civil subpoenas to Blue plans in other states, including Ohio, Kansas, Virginia and North Carolina, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Lew Borman, a spokesman for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, declined to comment. The Chapel Hill company is this state's largest health insurer, with 3.7 million members.

A battle is brewing over 101 new hospital beds that state regulators say are needed to meet the surging demand for health care in Wake County.

The chance to add new beds, and capture more of this region's fast-growing medical market, has set off a scramble among this region's largest hospitals.

Raleigh-based Rex Healthcare and WakeMed will compete to win the beds for new facilities or expansions. Novant Health of Winston-Salem will submit another proposal to build a community hospital in Holly Springs, after a previous plan was denied.

The bids are due April 15 and analysts with the state's Certificate of Need office will review the proposals based on cost, projected use and other factors. The initial decision likely will be appealed, and the legal fight could drag well into next year.

But the lobbying campaign has already begun, as hospitals look to line up support among local politicians, patients, physicians and others.

WakeMed will seek to expand the rehabilitation hospital at its main Raleigh campus to provide more services for a growing and aging population of patients recovering from strokes, joint replacements and traumatic injuries.

WakeMed officials will apply with state regulators this week for permission to add 14 beds at its existing rehab facility, which already has 84 beds. The expansion would allow WakeMed to offer more specialized care, said Stan Taylor, the hospital's vice president of corporate planning.

"When you get to a critical mass of around 100 beds, you can really do some things smaller hospitals can't," he added during a phone interview last week. "This additional allocation of beds would move us up to a level with world-reknowned programs" such as the Shepherd Center in Atlanta.

But other hospitals in this region will submit their own proposals for the 14 beds, which state regulators have determined this area needs to meet increasing demand. Applications are due this week to the state's Certificate of Need office, which controls major medical projects to limit costs.