Medical Properties Trust President, CEO and Chair Edward Aldag said in an earnings call Thursday that state regulators have slowed the process.
“The commonwealth focus seems to have been on transferring ownership of these hospitals only to in-state, not-for-profit operators and, ultimately, the regulators determine who receives the license to operate these facilities,” he said.
The office of Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey (D) declined to comment regarding Aldag's claims.
Massachusetts lawmakers are considering a bill that would ramp up oversight of healthcare deals tied to private equity firms and real estate investment trusts. The legislation would require healthcare companies to own their real estate and publicize financial data of their parent organizations' out-of-state operations, private equity investors, real estate investment trusts and management service organizations.
Viable paths to keeping all eight Massachusetts hospitals open existed, Aldag said. However, the “considerable volume of inaccurate negative commentary scared away or discouraged many for-profit and out-of-state operators from participating in the process,” he said.
It’s unclear whether Steward will be forced to delay the Carney and Nashoba hospitals' closures due to a state law Healey has cited, which requires health systems to give a 120-day notice to the state and affected workers before closing medical facilities.
A spokesperson at the Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services said in a statement the administration is pressing Steward to follow the 120-day closure process but recognizes the hospitals are out of money and inpatient utilization has been low.
"What’s imperative now is that Apollo, MPT and Steward's real estate partners do what's right for the people of Massachusetts and finalize deals so that the remaining hospitals can be transferred to new owners," the spokesperson said.
In addition to the two Massachusetts hospitals, Sharon Regional Medical Center's School of Nursing in Pennsylvania plans to shutter. Funding for the 125-year-old educational institution dried up amid Steward’s bankruptcy, a school spokesperson said.
The 31-hospital company has faced Justice Department and congressional investigations into its restructuring plans.
