Massachusetts Governor Rules Out Steward Bailout Amid Reported Financial Troubles
Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey has ruled out a bailout for Steward Health Care when questioned about the US company’s reported financial struggles.
“No, Steward’s not going to get bailed out,” Healey said, when questioned by WBUR’s Radio Boston this week.
Steward used to run the St Luke’s, Gozo, and Karin Grech hospitals in Malta but they have since been returned to the government following a landmark court case instituted by PN MP and former leader Adrian Delia.
PN MP Adrian Delia
However, Steward – one of the USA’s largest hospital operators – is also facing concerns in its home country, with a recent WBUR report warning it is in “grave financial distress and may be on the brink of failure”.
“We’ve not seen a plan from Steward,” Healey told reporters after addressing the recent Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association annual meeting.
“People should know this: Our goal is going to be to make sure that patients are protected, that jobs are protected and that the health care system in Massachusetts is stabilised.”
Steward, which is owned by the private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management, operates nine hospitals in Massachusetts.
According to the Massachusetts-based WBUR, Steward’s for-profit model is a rarity in the US state, where most hospitals are structured as nonprofits, and doesn’t file detailed financial information with state officials as is required of hospital systems.
Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey
It is currently in litigation to avoid disclosing the documents.
David Seltz, executive director of the Health Policy Commission, a state watchdog agency, warned on Friday that Steward executives are flouting the law.
“Transparency is about trust, and it’s about having the information so that policymakers and the public can understand the performance of our health care system,” he said.
“The obstinate refusal by Steward corporate leadership to hand over these legally mandated reports is a grave disservice to the public, to the patients that are served by that system and to the workers of that system.”
Steward officials have reportedly blamed “chronically low” reimbursement rates from insurers for causing financial losses at community hospitals, including their own, which they warned may “jeopardize their ability to continue to offer services.”
“Steward is advancing an action plan to strengthen its liquidity, restore its balance sheet, and put the necessary tools in place to continue forward as a key provider of healthcare services to our patients, communities, physicians, and employees,” a Steward spokesperson told The Boston Globe.
Cover photo: Left: The Gozo General Hosptial, one of three Maltese hospitals that used to be run by Steward, Right:
What do you make of this development?
READ NEXT: Watch: Joseph Muscat - ‘I Can’t Forgive Myself For Never Visiting Mount Carmel’
