Steward Healthcare said this week it plans to sell all of its hospitals after announcing it filed for bankruptcy protection.
The Dallas-based company, which operates more than 30 hospitals across the United States, does not expect any disruption to daily hospital operations and expects normal operations to continue throughout the Chapter 11 process, the company said. said.
In a court filing, the company said Steward began what Steward called a “staged marketing process” to sell the hospital facility in late January.
“Currently, the company is marketing all of its hospitals,” the company said in Tuesday's filing.
Steward filed for bankruptcy protection early Monday. Company officials said in a news release that Steward has taken steps to continue providing patients with the care they need.
“Steward's hospitals, medical centers and clinics are open and continue to serve our patients and the broader community, and our commitment to our employees remains the same,” the company said in a written statement. Ta.
Steward's eight hospitals in Massachusetts include St. Elizabeth Hospital and Carney Hospital in Boston. The company filed for protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas.
Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell said Wednesday that she is pushing to create a patient care ombudsman to advocate for patients and employees throughout the bankruptcy process. He also said he had the authority to review the proposed sale under his office's antitrust powers.
“The agency has the authority to review the proposed sale and will do so to best protect access to a competitive and affordable health care market,” she said in a written statement. “If we find violations of the law, we will take action.”
Steward's problems in Massachusetts have drawn the ire of political insiders, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Sen. Edward Markey, who say the company's former private equity owners “for parts… Steward) and took home hundreds of millions of dollars.”
Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey said Monday that the state is preparing for a possible bankruptcy filing. Despite the application, Steward Hospital will remain open and patients should keep their appointments, she said.
“This situation stems from and is rooted in greed, mismanagement, and lack of transparency on the part of Steward leadership in Dallas, Texas,” Healey said Monday. “This is a situation that should never happen, and we will work together to take measures to prevent it from happening again.”
Stewards said it was finalizing terms for a “debtor financing” of $75 million in initial funding from landlord Medical Property Trust and “up to an additional $225 million if certain conditions are met.” Stated.
“Steward Healthcare has worked hard to succeed in a very challenging healthcare environment,” Steward CEO Dr. Ralph de la Torre said in a news release.
Steward and De La Torre moved to Dallas in 2018, but there are no hospitals in the area. The closest facility is in Texarkana, 290 miles to the east, and the company also has facilities in Odessa, Big Spring, Houston and Port Arthur.
He blamed, in part, insufficient reimbursement by government payers as a result of rate reductions amid rising costs.
Torre said seeking bankruptcy protection puts Steward in a better position to “responsibly transition ownership of the Massachusetts-based hospital.”
In March, the company announced that it had entered into an agreement to sell its network of physicians across the United States to Optum, a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group, in an effort to stabilize its finances.
-Steve LeBlanc, Associated Press
