Steward Health Care CEO Won’t Answer Senate Subpoena
Ralph de la Torre has been subpoenaed by a Senate committee to answer questions over the failed hospital chain but is refusing to appear, and instead is asking to wait until Steward's bankruptcy proceedings are finalized. Steward, meanwhile, is selling six Massachusetts hospitals at a loss.
USA Today:
Steward Health CEO Ralph De La Torre Refuses Senate Subpoena
The CEO of Steward Health Care told senators Wednesday that despite a subpoena he would not appear before a bipartisan Senate committee next week to answer questions about the financial dealings of his bankrupt hospital chain. In a bipartisan vote in July, a Senate committee on health, education, labor and pensions authorized the subpoena mandating [Ralph] de la Torre to be present on Sept. 12 for testimony in Washington, D.C. (Alltucker, 9/4)
Reuters:
Bankrupt Steward Health Approved To Sell Six Massachusetts Hospitals At A Loss
Steward Health Care, the largest private hospital operator in the U.S., received a bankruptcy judge's approval on Wednesday to sell six Massachusetts hospitals, despite taking no profit from the $343 million sale. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez approved the sales as "the best deal that's on the table," at a court hearing in Houston, Texas. The sale will allow Steward to stem its losses and minimize the disruption to patients, even though the company won't make any money from the sale, Steward's attorney Candace Arthur told Lopez. (Knauth, 9/4)
More hospital news —
San Francisco Chronicle:
Sutter Health Charged 30% More Than Other Hospitals, New Study Finds
New research from University of Southern California health economists has found evidence that Sutter Health began implementing allegedly anticompetitive contracting practices in the early 2000s that resulted in prices 30% higher than at comparable hospitals. The findings echo some of the claims in recent lawsuits — including one that had been resolved in Sutter’s favor — accusing the health care giant of abusing its market power to charge insurers and consumers higher prices for medical care. (Ho, 9/4)
Military.com:
VA Hospitals Earn High Marks In New Federal Ratings
A new quality assessment of U.S. hospitals by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services gave nearly 58% of Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers the highest four- or five-star ratings -- down 9% from 2023. The VA scores were still significantly higher than private medical centers, only 40% of which earned four or five stars. The department announced Tuesday that its hospitals also outperformed non-VA facilities on patient satisfaction surveys, which gave 79% of VA hospitals four or five stars, compared with 40% of non-VA hospitals. (Kime, 9/4)
Crain's Detroit Business:
Henry Ford Health To Take Over 8 Ascension Hospitals
A joint venture between Henry Ford Health and Ascension Michigan will launch on Oct. 1, a spokesperson for Henry Ford Health confirmed to Crain’s. Under the no-cash deal, eight Ascension and Genesys hospitals and an addiction treatment center will be rebranded under Henry Ford Health. (Walsh, 9/4)
Also —
Fierce Healthcare:
Humana Exiting Medicare Advantage In 13 Markets
Humana reaffirmed its full-year guidance but is leaving 13 Medicare Advantage (MA) markets next year, Chief Financial Officer Susan Diamond said during the Wells Fargo Healthcare Conference on Wednesday. Other members will have fewer plans to choose from in certain geographies. Diamond explained around 560,000 members, or 10% of its individual MA membership base, would be impacted by the cutbacks, but Humana anticipates it will absorb about half of those members into other plans. (Tong, 9/4)
Modern Healthcare:
The Ensign Group Acquires 8 Skilled Nursing Facilities
Senior living company The Ensign Group acquired eight skilled nursing facilities across Colorado and Kansas in two separate deals, the company announced Tuesday. The Ensign Group acquired the operations of seven Colorado nursing homes for an undisclosed amount, according to a news release. (Eastabrook, 9/4)
Axios:
Health Worker Shortages Forecast Thru 2028
Continued worker burnout and more demand for care from an aging population will drive health care workforce shortages into 2028 — though with significant variations by state, according to a Mercer analysis. While there's been considerable attention paid to physician shortages, the analysis highlights an acute need for more nurse practitioners, even in states like California and Texas that will have overall surpluses of health workers. (Goldman, 9/5)
KFF Health News:
Errors In Deloitte-Run Medicaid Systems Can Cost Millions And Take Years To Fix
The computer systems run by the consulting giant Deloitte that millions of Americans rely on for Medicaid and other government benefits are prone to errors that can take years and hundreds of millions of dollars to update. While states wait for fixes from Deloitte, beneficiaries risk losing access to health care and food. Changes needed to fix Deloitte-run eligibility systems often pile on costs to the government that are much higher than the original contracts, which can slow the process of fixing errors. (Liss and Pradhan, 9/5)
KFF Health News:
Patients Suffer When Indian Health Service Doesn’t Pay For Outside Care
When the Indian Health Service can’t provide medical care to Native Americans, the federal agency can refer them elsewhere. But each year, it rejects tens of thousands of requests to fund those appointments, forcing patients to go without treatment or pay daunting medical bills out of their own pockets. In theory, Native Americans are entitled to free health care when the Indian Health Service foots the bill at its facilities or sites managed by tribes. (Zionts and Houghton, 9/5)
