Dallas’s Baylor Scott & White Health and Houston’s Memorial Hermann health systems this month announced that they’ve signed a letter of intent to merge, with a July, 2019 completion date, pending regulatory approval.

Consolidation of the two not-for-profit hospital systems would affect approximately 15% of the Lone Star State’s residents over 30 counties. The new system would see a projected 10 million annual patient visits, according to Dallas News‘ Jeff Mosier.

There remains, he reported, “uncertainty about how this merger might affect coverage by health insurance networks.”

“While the systems currently have individually negotiated deals with the insurance companies, the larger combined entity might be able to negotiate better deals,” Mosier wrote.

By the same token, some are questioning whether the proposed mega-system would prove anti-competitive and ultimately create upward price pressures on Texas’s healthcare consumers.

Read more about the merger here, on Dallas News.