Professor Robert Field offered insights on the planned merger of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Lahey Health in a Boston Globe article on Dec. 3.

The merger, the article said, will include more than a dozen hospitals that have a combined revenue exceeding $5 billion, making it one of the largest health care deals in Massachusetts history.

Field said the deal will create competition for Partners Healthcare, the massive network established by combining Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital.

“Partners has been the 800-pound gorilla in the market,” Field said. “What’s the best way to take on an 800-pound gorilla? It’s another 800-pound gorilla. That’s what this merger seems to be creating.”

And, Field noted, “it’s moving the market to a duopoly.”

Field, who directs the JD-MPH program, is an internationally recognized authority on health policy, health law and public health. He recently returned from a month-long trip to New Zealand, where he served as an adviser to the Auckland University of Technology as a Fulbright Specialist.