Should Massachusetts be attempting a take over of a hospital that was closing?
To start this article, it should be pointed out that the writer does not believe that hospitals should be run as for profit businesses, as this causes more issues. It has been proven that the nonprofit hospitals are what truly gave the medical reputation that the US had, not corporate ran profit machines.
So, through what is looking like financial mismanagement, Steward Health Care had to close St. Elizabeth's Medical Center in Boston. This has led Governor Maura Healey to use eminent domain to take it over to hand it to the Boston Medical Center. The owner of the property has taken the state government to court over this.
The question is, should the government be allowed to do this? The next is, what should happen when a needed hospital is closed? These are the questions people need to think about when this happens, no matter where it happens.
Seizure
Here is what Healey had to say via a press release:
https://www.mass.gov/news/governor-healey-seizes-st-elizabeths-medical-center-to-keep-hospital-open
“While Apollo continues to put its greed ahead of the health and wellbeing of the people of Massachusetts, we are taking action to make sure St. Elizabeth’s remains open. By transferring operations to Boston Medical Center, we will protect access to care for tens of thousands of patients and save thousands of jobs,” said Governor Maura Healey. “Our administration is committed to ensuring smooth transitions at the five Steward hospitals that we were able to save, and supporting the communities impacted by Steward’s closure of Nashoba Valley Medical Center and Carney Hospital.”
There were 7 hospitals closed, with 5 of them getting new owners. While Steward Health Care was the company that ran the hospital, Apollo Medical Holdings owns the building and land. The governor and her administration consider St. Elizabeth's to be a crucial provider, which is why they are taking this action.
Here is some info on Apollo:
https://www.forbes.com/companies/apollo-medical-holdings/#:~:text=Apollo%20Medical%20Holdings%2C%20Inc.%20is,and%20a%20healthcare%20delivery%20platform.
Steward
Steward collapsed to the point that the Rural Healthcare Group ended up having to buy them out.
https://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/news/steward-medical-sold-rural-healthcare-group#:~:text=Steward%20Medical%20Group%20and%20Steward,been%20rebranded%20as%20Revere%20Medical.
One of the interesting facts is that there is little information about the company, with most of it being about them buying Steward for $245 million. But this came after Optum Medical Group backed out of buying Steward.
Via PBS: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/investigation-reveals-how-investors-made-millions-as-steward-health-care-system-collapsed
Steward started in 2010, with them owning 40 hospitals at their peak. They then sold the land the hospitals were on, making the company and investors millions. Apollo is one of the companies that acquired land this way, as the buyers just leased the land back. None of this money went back into the hospitals. They would even fail to pay for needed equipment, supplies, or any maintenance.
An interesting fact comes from Open Secrets: https://www.opensecrets.org/party-totals-section
They were bipartisan in their political donations, with Claire McCaskill, Kyrsten Sinema, Marco Rubio, and Jeff Flake all receiving money from Steward. There were other politicians and PACs that would benefit, but the total donations do not equal the millions that the investors got during the years of operation. It does make one wonder what the benefit the politicians were to the company.
This has many groups and journalists asking, yet again, why there are so many private equity firms being allowed to do this to healthcare.
Steward did file for bankruptcy, so it basically looks like a long term pump and dump scam. Because of this insanity, the state of Massachusetts is working to also put to get together $700 million in a taxpayer funded aide package. They paid quite a bit to get Steward to keep the hospitals open, while the investors ran away. Don't worry about CEO Dr. Ralph de la Torre, though, he can relax on one of his two yachts. He might need it to run, though, as there are massive investigations.
Apollo lawsuit
Apollo is suing in court to keep the closed hospital out of the hands of the government after they benefited for years from the leases. The company is saying that the government offered too little for the property.
https://www.dotnews.com/2024/state-sued-over-st-elizabeth-s-property-taking
The lawyers for the company say that Boston Medical Group, through government aid, are wanting to give $140 million for a buyout, but not for renting or leasing. They also claim that there was no legislative approval for the actions.
This seems to be a fight that will take a while.