Medical Properties

Massachusetts governor says Steward Health Care must give 120-day notice before closing hospitals

BOSTON (AP) — Gov. Maura Healey said Thursday she is pressing Steward Health Care to adhere to a state Department of Public Health regulation that hospital owners must give 120 days notice before any medical facility can close in Massachusetts.

Healey made the comment a day after a bankruptcy judge allowed Steward’s decision to close two Massachusetts hospitals. Steward announced July 26 its plan to close the hospitals — Carney Hospital and Nashoba Valley Medical Center — on or around Aug. 31 because it had received no qualified bids for either facility.

The Dallas-based company — which announced its bankruptcy May 6 and two days later said it planned to sell off the 30 hospitals it operates nationwide — said it received qualified bids for six other hospitals it operates in Massachusetts.

“I’ve been clear with Steward, they need to stay open for 120 days. We need to have a smooth transition. Steward made the call to close those two hospitals,” Healey told reporters. “We have been hard at work looking to secure a deal that will ensure a smooth transition of ownership away from Steward to a responsible operator.”

Asked if requiring the hospitals to remain open for the 120 days is possible, Healey said “yes, yes, yes.”

“And the lenders have got to break the leases.
We’ve got to break the leases.
It’s ridiculous we’re in this situation because of the greed of Steward and (Steward CEO) Ralph de la Torre,” she said.

A spokesperson for Steward did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Healey was referring to lease payments Steward owes after selling their hospitals’ physical properties — including land and buildings — to another company. Both Steward and the state have argued that requiring potential buyers to assume those payments instead of negotiating their own leases — or buying the hospitals properties outright — was making it hard to transfer ownership of the hospitals.

Judge Christopher Lopez of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Houston approved a motion by Steward on Wednesday to toss out the master lease binding the Massachusetts hospitals.

In a letter to Steward dated Tuesday, U.S. Sens. Edward Markey and Elizabeth Warren and other members of the state’s all-Democratic congressional delegation also pointed to the state regulation requiring that a hospital formally notify the state of its intent to close its services 120 days before the proposed closure date, giving state health officials time to conduct public hearings.

“Steward’s financial crisis does not exempt the company from following the law, nor does it relieve Steward and its corporate enablers from their moral obligation to the public,” the lawmakers wrote.

Massachusetts has also agreed to provide about $30 million to help support the operations of six hospitals that Steward Health Care is trying to turn over to new owners.

The payments are advances on Medicaid funds that the state owes Steward and are being provided contingent upon an orderly movement toward new ownership. The $30 million is also contingent on Steward hitting milestones and cannot be used for rental payments, debt service or management fees.


The company’s hospitals are scattered across eight states.

A Senate committee voted last week to authorize an investigation into Steward’s bankruptcy and to subpoena de la Torre. The subpoena would compel de la Torre to testify before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee at a hearing on Sept. 12.
https://apnews.com/article/...healey-1ddf5bcaeca4a9b555ecdbf231733399
 

The company, which filed for bankruptcy protection in May, is attempting to sell all its hospitals to address $9 billion in debt. Before the announced closures, Steward operated 31 hospitals in eight states.
Steward's attorney, Ray Schrock of Weil, Gotshal & Manges agreed that the company is running out of time to transition the Massachusetts hospitals, and said at the hearing that it is working "overtime" to get its landlords and their lenders to agree to let new buyers take over the hospitals.

A major sticking point in those talks is how the money from the sale would be divided between Steward, which owns the hospitals themselves, and MPT and Macquarie, which bought the land from Steward.
MPT is a landlord on many of Steward's 25 other hospitals throughout the U.S., and the dispute about how to divide assets between MPT and the company's other creditors looms over the company's entire bankruptcy, Schrock said.

"We can't have all of the value swallowed up unfairly and in a disproportionate way by the real estate," Schrock told U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez, who is overseeing the case.
Lopez on Wednesday allowed Steward to close Carney Hospital in Boston and Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer, Massachusetts.
Lopez said he did not make the decision lightly, but he said that ongoing financial losses at Carney and Nashoba could imperil the operation of Steward's other hospitals. Lopez has appointed two independent watchdogs to ensure that patient care does not suffer during Steward's bankruptcy.
MPT has said that it needs to have a buyer for its real estate or long-term leases in place with the new hospitals owners as part of any sale. Many of Steward's hospitals would be losing money even if they paid no rent, and in many cases the land is worth more than the hospital operations, MPT has said in court filings.
https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/...al-sale-delay-2024-07-31/  

"Many of Steward's hospitals would be losing money even if they paid no rent, and in many cases the land is worth more than the hospital operations, MPT has said in court filings."

Ich bin mal gespannt was daraus folgen kann...

 

https://businessjournaldaily.com/...-late-bids-for-3-local-hospitals/  

and in many cases the land is worth more than the hospital operations

Das Problem sehe ich im Angebot. Die Bieter werden nicht den Realpreis für das Komplettpaket zahlen wollen. Ist halt nur Insolvezmasse. Dagegen sind die Grundstücke keine Insolvenzmasse, die sich MPT bezahlen lassen wollen. Daher sehe ich auch den Wiederstand seitens MPT.
Zur Gefahr: Die Grundstücke könnten noch abgewertet werden?


 

das politische hickhack um steward findet ja vor allem in massachusetts statt. ob aber am ende die suppe so heiss gegessen wird wie sie gekocht wurde, das wag ich doch stark zu bezweifeln.
spitalschliessungen kommen nirgends auf der welt gut an bei der bevölkerung, das wissen auch die politiker in massachusetts.

ich gehe eigentlich schon davon aus, dass genau deswegen irgendwann der punkt kommt, wo man vom streiten zu einer sinnvollen problemlösung übergeht.

die situation in massachusetts sieht doch so aus: die bevölkerung braucht die spitäler, mpw ist der besitzer der spitäler. der mieter und betreiber steward hats verbockt und muss nun gehen. dass offenbar einige der spitäler eine ungenügende kostenstruktur haben ist ein natürlich ein problem, dass man lösen muss für die zukunft.
tatsache aber bleibt: die bevölkerung braucht spitäler und mpw wird miete dafür verlangen. ein neuer betreiber muss gefunden werden und die kostenstruktur verbessert werden. eigentlich alles normale verwaltungs- und managementaufgaben.
 

nach dem anstieg der us arbeitslosenzahlen gestern und dem nachfolgenden deutlichen rückgang des zinsniveaus lösen sich weitere argumente der shorties in luft auf.

da dieses jahr mpw einige verkäufe gemacht hat um die liquidität zu stärken dürfte man nächstes jahr wegen der absehbaren zinssenkungen der fed nun sogar einiges an überschussliquidität in der bilanz haben. freudige aussichten für aktionäre.  

Anschnallen bitte........

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9CZmHCUv9w&t=29s  

das ist ein ganz alter hut, mesias. steward ist bereits in chapter 11 liquidation und mpw alle offenen rechnungen von steward vorzu abgeschrieben.

das hier ist aber nicht die steward aktie, sondern mpw. das ist der entscheidende punkt.

ausserdem stehen bereits die nächsten tage grosse verkäufe von steward an und mit den erlösen könnte bereits abgeschriebene rechnungen doch noch bezahlt werden. also genau, anschnallen bitte.....  

Alle entscheidenden Termine sind im August.

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/health-care/article290758219.html