California Atty. Gen. Kamala D. Harris on Friday approved the hotly debated sale of a chain of six struggling Catholic hospitals — including two in Los Angeles County — but imposed strict conditions on how they will be managed.
Prime Healthcare Services Inc. of Ontario said it would need days to review Harris’ ruling before deciding whether to proceed with the purchase.
Harris said she would require Prime Healthcare to keep all of the hospitals open for 10 years — including four of them as acute-care hospitals — and insisted they provide the same level of charity care to indigent patients as Daughters of Charity had.
Dr. Kavitha Reddy Bhatia, vice president of clinical transformation for Prime Healthcare, said the requirement to keep the hospitals open so long in the face of an ever-changing industry “has never been imposed on any other hospital acquisition in California history.”
“We will do a careful analysis and hope to reach a decision within a week,” said Bhatia.
The closely watched sale has been a hot-button issue across California for months, with more than 7,600 jobs and vital healthcare services to a number of lower-income communities hanging in the balance.
In October, Prime Healthcare agreed to pay about $843 million in cash and assumed debt to acquire the six hospitals. A key part of the agreement was Prime Healthcare’s promise to assume $300 million of liability for the pensions of 17,000 current and former Daughters of Charity employees.
The proposed sale quickly drew strong opponents and supporters. Some unions and elected officials had lobbied Harris to block the sale, saying Prime Healthcare was more concerned with profits than treating the sick and poor. Those who backed the sale noted Prime Healthcare’s history of saving troubled hospitals and said the company was the best option to save the struggling Catholic hospitals.
Meanwhile, Santa Clara County government was disappointed by the decision. Two of the six Daughters of Charity hospitals are in that county: one in San Jose, one in Gilroy.
“Regardless of the conditions placed upon Prime Healthcare, the county believes that the decision jeopardizes the health of the county’s neediest and most vulnerable residents by reducing their access to critical medical services,” the county said in a statement.
The Daughters of Charity hospital chain, reportedly losing more than $10 million per month, said it probably would file for bankruptcy protection and slash services if the deal was not approved. Executives remained optimistic shortly after Harris’ conditional approval of the sale.
The story comes from an February 20 LA Times article by Stuart Pfeifer and Javier Panzar.
Ordering any business venture to do indigent health care work in order to consummate a private business deal is not appropriate or legal.
If need be, let the hospitals stand vacant.
” It has never been imposed on any other hospital acquisition in California history.”
If the current owners go bankrupt all pensions and all benefits for former employees are down the toilet.
The DEMOCRATS certainly do want Government to Control everyone else’s business. Big Brother.
Democrats can not make “Catholic” Hospitals stay open.
Let the CA Democratic Party purchase the hospitals if they want to keep them open for indigents.
And make the CA Attorney General use her own personal funds to help indigents as well.
Many DEMOCRATS have reached the point where they are COMMUNISTS.
What is not said in most of the news articles on the sale, is that pro-abortion Kamala Harris mandates that the hospitals will provide and expand those “services to include those ‘Reproductive and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services'” prohibited by the USCCB. In other words – who cares what the Catholics say, I say that these hospitals will provide abortions – or else. Do I hear any bishops or archbishops objecting?
Contact the CA Bishops especially those who have one of these hospitals in their own Diocese.
Do not assume.
CCC: ” 907 “In accord with the knowledge, competence, and preeminence which they possess, [lay people] have the right and even at times a duty
to manifest to the sacred pastors their opinion on matters which pertain to the good of the Church,
and they have a right to make their opinion known to the other Christian faithful,
with due regard to the integrity of faith and morals and reverence toward their pastors, and with consideration for the common good and the dignity of persons.”
No. The Catholic hierarchy is spiritually bankrupt.
Not all of them. You make a false assumption.
ObamaCare will close down many, many more hospitals. If you like your Doctor you can keep your doctor.
The Democratic Party should build their own abortion centers, not mandate conversion of Catholic institutions even if they can win every election in California.
Kamala Harris is an anti-Catholic bigot. Wonder how many fake Catholics voted for her for Attorney General?