Ohio lawmakers question ProMedica, University of Toledo Medical Center affiliation
Skip to main content
MDHC_Logotype_white
Subscribe
  • My Account
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • This Week's News
    • COVID-19
    • Providers
    • Insurance
    • Government
    • Finance
    • Technology
    • Safety & Quality
    • People
    • Regional News
    • Digital Edition
    • Lilly: Drug can prevent COVID-19 illness in nursing homes
      Mobile labs take vaccine studies to diverse neighborhoods
      Biden to sign virus measures, requires mask use to travel
      vaccine shot injection_i_i.jpg
      11,900 COVID-19 vaccine doses ruined en route to Michigan
    • Lilly: Drug can prevent COVID-19 illness in nursing homes
      Mobile labs take vaccine studies to diverse neighborhoods
      Biden to sign virus measures, requires mask use to travel
      vaccine shot injection_i_i.jpg
      11,900 COVID-19 vaccine doses ruined en route to Michigan
    • Louisiana gets reports vaccine providers are discriminating
      'We know this is real': New clinics aid virus 'long-haulers'
      The Check Up: Trenda Ray
      The Check Up: Trenda Ray of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
      Trenda Ray
      Q&A: Arkansas nursing leader looking for creative staffing solutions as COVID cases surge
    • UnitedHealthcare operating earnings fall by $2 billion in Q4
      CMS approves rule forcing insurers to ease prior authorization
      COVID-19 still a big uncertainty for insurers in 2021
      Health insurers' outlook boosted after Dems' Georgia win
    • Biden signs executive orders to reverse, pause Trump-era rules
      CMS finalizes blood-based colon cancer screening coverage
      As virus surges, states reporting shortages of vaccine
      New CDC director takes over beleaguered agency amid crisis
    • Providers await new HHS coronavirus grant reporting deadline
      Operation Warp Speed Dr. Moncef Slaoui, Pfizer Group President Angela Hwang, Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel, CVS Health Executive Vice President Karen Lynch and McKesson CEO Brian Tyler participate in a panel discussion on the COVID-19 vaccine.
      Hospitals, drug companies strive to stand out virtually at JPM
      Intermountain, Trinity, Memorial Hermann behind $300M private equity fund
      Operation Warp Speed to bump up McKesson's stock price
    • A man in a room with servers.
      Momentum grows to outsource hospital tech functions in 2021
      5 things to know about Google's $2.1B Fitbit acquisition
      Providence bets on machine-learning, consolidating data centers
      Mental health treatment was most common telehealth service during COVID
    • Mobile labs take vaccine studies to diverse neighborhoods
      As virus surges, states reporting shortages of vaccine
      Sticking to Mediterranean diet is good for the brain
      Chance of COVID-19 triage care looms over Arizona hospitals
    • Elizabeth Richter will serve as acting CMS administrator
      Providence names new chief financial officer
      Wisconsin's top health official departing for federal job
      Cone Health CEO, CFO to depart amid pending Sentara merger
    • Midwest
    • Northeast
    • South
    • West
  • Insights
    • ACA 10 Years After
    • Best Practices
    • InDepth Special Reports
    • Innovations
    • The Affordable Care Act after 10 years
    • New care model helps primary-care practices treat obesity
      doctor with patient
      COVID-19 treatment protocol developed in the field helps patients recover
      Rachel Wyatt
      Project to curb pressure injuries in hospitals shows promise
      Yale New Haven's COVID-19 nurse-staffing model has long-term benefits
    • Dr. James Hildreth
      How medical education can help fight racism
      Modern Healthcare InDepth: Breaking the bias that impedes better healthcare
      Videos: Healthcare industry executives describe their encounters with racism
      Michellene Davis
      Healthcare leadership lacks the racial diversity needed to reduce health disparities
      Hospital divided into multiple pieces
      Health systems may be warming to offshoring, a mainstay practice for insurers
    • A woman with a wearable sensor talking to her provider.
      Wearable sensors help diagnose heart rhythm problems in West Virginia
      self service station
      COVID-19 pushes patient expectations toward self-service
      Targeting high-risk cancer patients with genetics
      A nurse holds up a phone with a message to a family member saying surgery has started.
      Texting, tablets help hospitals keep family updated on patient care
  • Transformation
    • Patients
    • Operations
    • Care Delivery
    • Payment
    • Highmark Health inks six-year cloud, tech deal with Google
      Study: 1 in 5 patients report discrimination when getting healthcare
      HHS proposes changing HIPAA privacy rules
      Android health records app launches at 230 health systems
    • California hospitals prepare ethical protocol to prioritize lifesaving care
      Amazon, JPMorgan Chase, Berkshire Hathaway disband Haven
      Digital pathways poised to reshape healthcare continuum in 2021
      Healthcare was the hardest hit by supply shortages across all U.S. industries
    • A woman with a wearable sensor talking to her provider.
      Wearable sensors help diagnose heart rhythm problems in West Virginia
      New care model helps primary-care practices treat obesity
      How hospitals are building on COVID-19 telehealth momentum
      Researchers: Hospital price variation exacerbates health inequities
    • MedPAC votes to boost hospital payments, freeze or cut other providers
      Most Next Gen ACOs achieved bonuses in 2019
      Congress recalibrates Medicare Physician Fee Schedule after lobbying
      CMS approves rule to encourage value-based drug pricing
  • Data/Lists
    • Rankings/Lists
    • Interactive Databases
    • Data Points
    • Health Systems Financials
      Executive Compensation
      Physician Compensation
  • Op-Ed
    • Bold Moves
    • Breaking Bias
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • Vital Signs Blog
    • From the Editor
    • Wellstar CEO calls adapting for the pandemic her bold move
      Howard P. Kern
      Recognizing the value of telehealth in its infancy
      Dr. Stephen Markovich
      A bold move helped take him from family doctor to OhioHealth CEO
      Dr. Bruce Siegel
      Why taking a hospital not-for-profit was Dr. Bruce Siegel’s boldest move
    • Barry Ostrowsky
      Ending racism is a journey taken together; the starting point must be now
      Laura Lee Hall and Gary Puckrein
      Increased flu vaccination has never been more important for communities of color
      John Daniels Jr.
      Health equity: Making the journey from buzzword to reality
      Mark C. Clement and David Cook
      We all need to 'do something' to fight inequities and get healthcare right, for every patient, every time
    • Dr. Bruce Siegel
      By protecting the healthcare safety net, Biden can put us on the path to a stronger country
      Healing healthcare: some ideas for triage by the new Congress, administration
      Dr. Sachin H. Jain
      Medicare for All? The better route to universal coverage would be Medicare Advantage for All
      Connectivity: a social determinant of health that can exacerbate all the others
    • Letters: Eliminating bias in healthcare needs to be ‘deliberate and organic’
      Letters: Maybe dropping out of ACOs is a good thing for patients
      Letters: White House and Congress share blame for lack of national COVID strategy
      Letters: VA making strides to improve state veterans home inspections
    • Sponsored Content Provided By Optum
      How blockchain could ease frustration with the payment process
      Sponsored Content Provided By Optum
      Three steps to better data-sharing for payer and provider CIOs
      Sponsored Content Provided By Optum
      Reduce total cost of care: 6 reasons why providers and payers should tackle the challenge together
      Sponsored Content Provided By Optum
      Why CIOs went from back-office operators to mission-critical innovators
  • Awards
    • Award Programs
    • Nominate
    • Previous Award Programs
    • Other Award Programs
    • Best Places to Work in Healthcare Logo for Navigation
      Nominations Open - Best Places to Work in Healthcare
      Nominations Open - Health Care Hall of Fame
      Nominations Open - 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
    • 100 Most Influential People
    • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
    • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
    • Health Care Hall of Fame
    • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
    • Top 25 Emerging Leaders
    • Top 25 Innovators
    • Top 25 Minority Leaders
    • Top 25 Women Leaders
    • Excellence in Nursing Awards
    • Design Awards
    • Top 25 COOs in Healthcare
    • 100 Top Hospitals
    • ACHE Awards
  • Events
    • Conferences
    • Galas
    • Webinars
    • COVID-19 Event Tracker
    • Leadership Symposium
    • Healthcare Transformation Summit
    • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
    • Workplace of the Future Conference
    • Strategic Marketing Conference
    • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
    • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
    • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
    • Top 25 Minority Leaders Gala (2022)
    • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
  • Listen
    • Podcast - Next Up
    • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
    • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
    • Video Series - The Check Up
    • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
    • Carter Dredge
      Next Up Podcast: Ready, set, innovate! Innovation and disruption in healthcare
      Next Up Podcast: COVID-19, social determinants highlight health inequities — what next?
      Ceci Connolly
      Next Up Podcast: How to navigate the murky post-election waters
      Next Up Podcast: Saving Rural Health
    • An older man wearing a mask receiving a vaccine.
      Beyond the Byline: Verifying information on the chaotic COVID-19 vaccine rollout
      doctor burnout
      Beyond the Byline: How healthcare supply chain struggles contribute to employee burnout
      Beyond the Byline: Covering race and diversity in the healthcare industry
      Beyond the Byline: How telehealth utilization has impacted investor-owned company earnings
    • Leading intention promote diversity and inclusion
      Introducing Healthcare Insider Podcast
    • The Check Up: Chip Kahn
      The Check Up: Chip Kahn of the Federation of American Hospitals
      The Check Up: Trenda Ray
      The Check Up: Trenda Ray of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
      The Check Up: Dr. Kenneth Davis
      The Check Up: Dr. Kenneth Davis of Mount Sinai Health System
      The Check Up: Dr. Thomas McGinn
      The Check Up: Dr. Thomas McGinn of CommonSpirit Health
    • Video: Ivana Naeymi Rad of Intelligent Medical Objects
  • MORE +
    • Advertise
    • Media Kit
    • Newsletters
    • Jobs
    • People on the Move
    • Reprints & Licensing
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Providers
July 09, 2020 06:00 AM

Ohio lawmakers question University of Toledo Medical Center, ProMedica affiliation

Alex Kacik
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Print
    Modern Healthcare Illustration / Getty Images

    Ohio policymakers continue to scrutinize an affiliation between University of Toledo Medical Center and ProMedica, claiming that ProMedica has ulterior motives that will decimate the academic medical center.

    ProMedica and the University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences signed a 50-year academic affiliation agreement in 2015, which allowed UT students and residents to train at ProMedica as well as provide financial support to "ensure the long-term strength and expansion of educational and financial opportunities for the University's College of Medicine and Life Sciences," the university wrote in its 2019 earnings report. Critics of the deal have countered that the affiliation will gut the medical center as ProMedica siphons off its physicians and the most profitable services.

    "What is becoming clear is this deal stinks,'' Ohio Sen. Teresa Fedor (D-Toledo) said during a press conference Wednesday. "It favors ProMedica over UTMC. It has systematically taken assets and profits from UTMC—a public teaching and research hospital—and transferred them to ProMedica, a private hospital.''

    Lawmakers called the press conference to urge the state auditor to conduct a deeper audit of how the University of Toledo Medical Center's finances have been affected by its academic affiliation with ProMedica, claiming the agreement may be hurting the facility.

    Former Toledo Mayor Carty Finkbeiner said he supports a forensic audit of UTMC's finances and the affiliation agreement.

    "It's important to get a very thorough review of the fiscal relationship between the University of Toledo, its medical college and ProMedica," he told Modern Healthcare. "I am not sure that the community at large has a clear picture of that fiscal partnership."

    ProMedica said in a statement that the partnership was thoroughly vetted by both parties and reviewed by the state attorney general's antitrust division in 2015.

    "The terms of the academic affiliation have been available to the public online since its inception," the Toledo, Ohio-based not-for-profit health system said. "Both parties continue to adhere to the terms as outlined to enrich the quality of medical education and expand clinical training capacity in Toledo."

    The affiliation agreement required all but orthopedics, family medicine and psychiatry faculty and residents to move their practices to ProMedica's flagship hospital, UTMC psychiatry professor Dr. Daniel Rapport said in a recent complaint with the Federal Trade Commission.

    That was set to change on July 1, when UTMC was planning to transfer its orthopedic services to ProMedica. But Ohio Attorney General David Yost halted the transfer for 90 days.

    The University of Toledo Medical Center reported a $8.3 million operating loss on operating revenue of $295.5 million in 2019, down from a $685,000 operating profit on operating revenue of $304 million in 2018, according to HMP Metrics.

    "Essentially, after robbing UTMC of its doctors, residents and patients, and driving it to insolvency, it (ProMedica) has now swept in to offer to manage the hospital it has decimated financially,'' the complaint reads. "This is anti-competitive. It would place them in charge of the University Hospital to manage however they see fit.''

    Fedor and her congressional peers also accused Faber of being too quick to dismiss a whistleblower's complaint that alleged two UT Board of Trustees intentionally harmed the public hospital and helped ProMedica. The complaint alleges possible felonies, conflicts of interest and breaches of fiduciary duty involving former UT Trustee Steve Cavanaugh and current UT Trustee Mary Ellen Pisanelli, who championed the agreement.

    Cavanaugh is now the chief financial officer of ProMedica, which acquired HCR ManorCare in 2018. He was an executive with HCR ManorCare in 2013 when HCR ManorCare began its business association with ProMedica, which entered into public contract negotiations with the University of Toledo in 2014. He did not list any conflicts of interest when he applied for a seat on the University of Toledo Board of Trustees, public records show.

    Cavanaugh said there was no reason to recuse himself from the 2015 vote on the academic affiliation agreement, which was part of a public competitive bidding process run by an outside consultant. Even if he had recused himself, the outcome would have been unchanged, he said, noting that the agreement was reviewed by the attorney general and made public.

    "The ProMedica acquisition of HCR ManorCare happened in 2018 and had no relation to the academic affiliation agreement," Cavanaugh said in a statement. "Before the acquisition closing, I sought guidance from the Ohio Ethics Commission regarding my ongoing involvement on the UToledo Board that included a detailed review of the acquisition and my role with ProMedica. I followed the guidance The Ohio Ethics Commission provided."

    Ohio Auditor Keith Faber didn't complete a full performance audit of the UTMC-ProMedica affiliation agreement after the university declined the request, but several lawmakers said in a letter Tuesday that was not good practice. A comprehensive financial review may have helped explain "why the agreement, marketed as a means of improving the finances at the University of Toledo College of Medicine, is having the opposite effect," Fedor and state Reps. Paula Hicks-Hudson (D-Toledo), Lisa Sobecki (D-Toledo) and Mike Sheehy (D-Oregon) wrote in a letter to Faber Tuesday.

    While Faber said in the June 22 review that he couldn't make meaningful recommendations in that initial, cursory audit, the lawmakers criticized Faber for essentially asking UTMC for permission to do a thorough review, claiming that was not necessary.

    The Ohio State Auditor's office said it had not received the policymakers' letter.

    "We can recall no legitimate instance in which a law enforcement agency such as yours allowed an entity under review to set the parameters of that review," the letter reads. "That arrangement, however, appears to be how your office repeatedly handled allegations of felonies, financial irregularities and conflicts of interest involving the academic affiliation agreement between ProMedica and the University of Toledo for the UT College of Medicine and Life Sciences."

    Also at the news conference, lawmakers unveiled a recent letter to the UT Dean of the College of Medicine from UTMC Professor Dr. James Willey. Willey cited Faber's audit findings that suggest UTMC made a profit from 2016 to 2018 but interdepartmental transfers caused the medical college to operate in the red.

    Willey focused on the estimated $30 million that Medicare paid annually to help fund graduate medical education, asking if the payments were "used by UToledo to support resident training or were they used for some other purpose?''

    If used for another purpose, it would undermine the medical school's ability "to meet their educational obligations to resident training,'' he wrote.

    Bob Baxter, the president of Toledo-based Mercy Health North, wrote to the Ohio Department of Higher Education that the UTMC-ProMedica affiliation is jeopardizing UTMC.

    "Mercy Health has witnessed, through the veil of medical education, the systematic relocation of UTMC's residents—and the faculty charged with training such residents—away from UTMC and on to the campus of a market competitor," he wrote. "From our perspective, such relocation has taken UTMC from a vibrant and thriving academic medical institution training hundreds of residents a year to a failing hospital in just over five years."

    Mercy Health said it explored responding to the university's request for proposal, but it didn't see how Mercy could help stabilize UTMC. Even if it did reply to the RFP, the affiliation agreement "grants ProMedica broad rights that effectively undercut any offer submitted to the University of Toledo for UTMC."

    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Send us a letter

    Have an opinion about this story? Click here to submit a Letter to the Editor, and we may publish it in print.

    Recommended for You
    Louisiana gets reports vaccine providers are discriminating
    Louisiana gets reports vaccine providers are discriminating
    'We know this is real': New clinics aid virus 'long-haulers'
    'We know this is real': New clinics aid virus 'long-haulers'
    Sponsored Content
    Get Free Newsletters

    Sign up for free enewsletters and alerts to receive breaking news and in-depth coverage of healthcare events and trends, as they happen, right to your inbox.

    Subscribe Today

    The weekly magazine, websites, research and databases provide a powerful and all-encompassing industry presence. We help you make informed business decisions and lead your organizations to success.

    Subscribe
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS
    • Instagram

    Stay Connected

    Join the conversation with Modern Healthcare through our social media pages

    MDHC_Logotype_white
    Contact Us

    (877) 812-1581

    Email us

     

    Resources
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Choices Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Editorial Dept
    • Submission Guidelines
    • Code of Ethics
    • Awards
    • About Us
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Modern Healthcare
    Copyright © 1996-2021. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • This Week's News
      • COVID-19
      • Providers
      • Insurance
      • Government
      • Finance
      • Technology
      • Safety & Quality
      • People
      • Regional News
        • Midwest
        • Northeast
        • South
        • West
      • Digital Edition
    • Insights
      • ACA 10 Years After
      • Best Practices
      • InDepth Special Reports
      • Innovations
    • Transformation
      • Patients
      • Operations
      • Care Delivery
      • Payment
    • Data/Lists
      • Rankings/Lists
      • Interactive Databases
      • Data Points
    • Op-Ed
      • Bold Moves
      • Breaking Bias
      • Commentaries
      • Letters
      • Vital Signs Blog
      • From the Editor
    • Awards
      • Award Programs
        • 100 Most Influential People
        • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
        • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
        • Health Care Hall of Fame
        • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
        • Top 25 Emerging Leaders
        • Top 25 Innovators
        • Top 25 Minority Leaders
        • Top 25 Women Leaders
      • Nominate
      • Previous Award Programs
        • Excellence in Nursing Awards
        • Design Awards
        • Top 25 COOs in Healthcare
      • Other Award Programs
        • 100 Top Hospitals
        • ACHE Awards
    • Events
      • Conferences
        • Leadership Symposium
        • Healthcare Transformation Summit
        • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
        • Workplace of the Future Conference
        • Strategic Marketing Conference
        • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
      • Galas
        • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
        • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
        • Top 25 Minority Leaders Gala (2022)
        • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
      • Webinars
      • COVID-19 Event Tracker
    • Listen
      • Podcast - Next Up
      • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
      • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
      • Video Series - The Check Up
      • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
    • MORE +
      • Advertise
      • Media Kit
      • Newsletters
      • Jobs
      • People on the Move
      • Reprints & Licensing