Latest news with #StewardHealthCare
Miami Herald
27-05-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
Controversial healthcare provider closes clinics, lays off staff
American healthcare providers have battled financial distress over the last year with several companies closing locations, selling off facilities, and in some cases filing for bankruptcy to reorganize their businesses and restructure debt. In 2024, five hospital operators filed for bankruptcy after 12 companies filed petitions in 2023. Private hospital operator, Steward Health Care, which operated 31 hospitals in eight states, filed for bankruptcy in May 2024 to sell its assets and reduce $9 billion in debt. Don't miss the move: Subscribe to TheStreet's free daily newsletter The debtor sold six hospitals in Massachusetts for $343 million in September 2024. Related: Key healthcare company files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Hospitals and health center operator CarePoint Health Systems on Nov. 4, 2024, filed for Chapter 11 protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware to reorganize its unsustainable debt. As 2024 concluded, this year began with Prospect Medical Holdings and 66 affiliates on Jan. 11, 2025, filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection with plans to reorganize or sell certain medical assets. The debtor, which employed about 12,600 workers, owned and operated 16 acute care and behavioral hospitals in California, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island, providing a wide range of inpatient and outpatient services. Prospect Medical Holdings won bankruptcy court approval to close its two remaining Crozer Health hospitals in Pennsylvania - Crozer-Chester Medical Center in Chester, Pa., and Taylor Hospital in Ridley Park, Pa. - after failing to find a buyer for the properties. Next, Landmark Holdings of Florida LLC, the owner of six Landmark Hospital specialty hospital facilities, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on March 9, 2025, to reorganize six facilities that are located in Florida, Georgia, and Missouri. Not all healthcare companies that close facilities need to file for bankruptcy. Healthcare provider Planned Parenthood North Central States revealed that it will close eight of its 23 clinics - four in Minnesota and four in Iowa - and consolidate the services of those facilities with its 10 other clinics in Minnesota and two in Iowa, Minnesota Public Radio reported. Related: Major health care company files for bankruptcy to sell assets The controversial healthcare provider also operates two clinics in Nebraska and one in South Dakota. More bankruptcy: Iconic auto repair chain franchise files Chapter 11 bankruptcyPopular beer brand closes down and files Chapter 7 bankruptcyPopular vodka and gin brand files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Planned Parenthood North Central States said the closing of the eight clinics will result in the layoff of 66 staff members, reassignment of 37 workers, and a reduction of 35 more positions in other ways. "We have been fighting to hold together an unsustainable infrastructure as the landscape shifts around us and an onslaught of attacks continues," Ruth Richardson, the affiliate's president and CEO, said in a statement reported by MPR. In April, President Trump's administration froze $2.8 million in federal funds for Minnesota to provide birth control and other services, such as cervical cancer screenings and testing for sexually transmitted diseases, Planned Parenthood North Central States said. Five Planned Parenthood clinics in Minnesota provide abortion procedures, but under federal law, federal funds can't be used for most abortions. The regional Planned Parenthood affiliate blamed proposed cuts to Medicaid, which provides healthcare coverage to low-income Americans, and the Trump Administration's proposal to eliminate funding for teenage pregnancy prevention programs for its financial distress, requiring the closing of the clinics. The affiliate also cited Iowa's ban on abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy for causing the number performed there to drop 60% in the first six months the law was in effect, MPR reported. Related: Major bankrupt healthcare provider closes distressed hospitals The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc.
Al Jazeera
13-05-2025
- Health
- Al Jazeera
Gutted
Fault Lines and Mother Jones magazine investigate how a private equity firm gutted a major United States hospital chain in pursuit of profit, leaving patients without critical care and families shattered. The film follows Nabil Haque, whose wife died after childbirth at a Boston hospital that lacked essential equipment. It also tells the story of Lisa Malick, whose newborn daughter died after delays at a Florida facility that lacked a functioning neonatal intensive care unit. Together, their stories reveal the devastating consequences of turning healthcare into a business. The investigation uncovers how Steward Health Care executives drained hospitals of resources, saddled them with crushing debt and triggered one of the largest hospital bankruptcies in US history – while walking away with millions.
Wall Street Journal
07-05-2025
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
Doctors Warn Accountants of Private-Equity Drain on Quality: You Could Be Next
Boston's Carney Hospital closed last year after its owner, Steward Health Care, filed for bankruptcy. Steward was formerly private-equity backed. Photo: Steven Senne/Associated Press Many doctors have decried private-equity firms' push into healthcare, saying patient care has eroded under their ownership. Now, as these firms make similar inroads in accounting, some medical professionals have a warning for CPA firms: Don't make our same mistakes. Drs. Bob McNamara and James Keaney , both former longtime emergency-room physicians, were early critics of private equity in healthcare who now say such ownership in accounting could shake trust in an industry that investors rely on for getting trustworthy financial information about companies.
Boston Globe
06-05-2025
- Business
- Boston Globe
One year after Steward bankruptcy, Warren, Markey demand criminal probe
Related : Advertisement 'Prosecution of Dr. de la Torre is now in the hands of DOJ, which has the power to hold him accountable for his failure to appear before Congress,' said the letter. 'As evidenced by the unanimous contempt finding, the Senate believes this matter is serious, meriting a criminal investigation by the Department. We urge DOJ to give appropriate weight and consideration to the bipartisan and unanimous nature of this referral.' St. Elizabeth's Medical Center, now operated by Boston Medical Center, was one of Steward Health Care's hospitals in Massachusetts. Steven Senne/Associated Press The criminal contempt charge, the first by the committee in over 50 years, was referred to the US Attorney for the District of Columbia, who would decide whether to prosecute de la Torre. If found guilty, de la Torre could spend up to 12 months in prison. Shortly after he was charged, Advertisement A spokesperson for the US Attorney was not immediately available for comment. In the letter, Warren and Markey said the contempt filing is an important measure of accountability given the destruction of the health care company under de la Torre's leadership, which saddled the hospitals with massive amounts of debt, while making large payouts to Steward's executives and private equity owners. At the same time, patient care suffered. The Boston Globe 'Ralph de la Torre needs to know that he's not off the hook for looting Steward Health Care and leaving patients, workers, and communities out to dry,' Warren said in a statement. 'I will not forget what private equity did to Steward Health Care and I will not give up the fight.' In addition to the contempt referral, the Department of Justice has also been In addition to the letter to the Department of Justice, Warren and Markey sent a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission, requesting that the agency open an investigation into Medical Properties Trust, the firm that paid Steward over $1 billion to buy its real estate in 2016. Advertisement MPT then leased back the property back to Steward, but rather than operating at arms length, a Boston Globe investigation found that the two companies often instead worked in concert, funneling money to each other to perpetuate an appearance of financial stability. Carney Hospital in Dorchester was one of two Steward hospitals to shutter last year amid the health care system's financial struggles. Lane Turner/Globe Staff Experts and analysts who spoke to the Globe said that the companies' dealings, including MPT hiding Steward's ailing financial health from investors, 'This arrangement has all the hallmarks of a Ponzi scheme, raising serious questions about whether MPT — a publicly traded company — misled its investors and violated securities laws,' the letter states. 'By hiding Steward's financial health from investors for over half a decade, MPT may have deceived investors and broken securities laws. We are therefore asking the SEC to open an investigation into MPT to determine if this was the case.' Jessica Bartlett can be reached at
Boston Globe
29-04-2025
- Business
- Boston Globe
Sen. Warren presses Walgreens' private equity buyer to protect pharmacy access in Mass.
Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up 'These private equity buyouts of companies facing financial hardship — whether they involve health care companies, retail, or other types of firms — frequently lead to worse outcomes for employees and consumers: private equity firms sell off assets and close locations, employees lose their jobs, and consumers lose access to essential goods and services," Warren wrote in the letter shared with the Globe. Advertisement In the letter, Warren expressed concerns about the private equity takeover of the pharmacy giant following a similar path as Steward Health Care, which Advertisement She also voiced concern for 'Millions of customers across the United States rely on Walgreens for primary care, essential medications, and household items — and if the Walgreens-Sycamore deal generates even more store closures, that could leave even more Walgreens customers in 'pharmacy deserts' without access to these necessities," Warren wrote in the letter. Warren outlined a series of questions for the firm in the letter, seeking 'assurances that Sycamore's buyout of Walgreens will not damage the company further, and will not cost hardworking Americans their jobs or create difficulties for patients that need access to lifesaving medications,' she wrote. The questions include whether the firm plans to shutter any additional Walgreens stores, how it plans to ensure that communities retain access to a retail pharmacy after closures, and whether it plans to sell real estate from closed locations. Warren also asked whether the company intends to fire Walgreens employees in the acquisition. and urged it to not accept payouts from Walgreens until it is profitable. Warren said she is concerned the deal will be financed with a disproportionate amount of debt, leaving it vulnerable to a 'heightened risk of bankruptcy.' Sycamore Partners did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Maren Halpin can be reached at
