North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein announces lawsuit against HCA Healthcare
by Kelly Doty, Kari Barrows and Justin Berger
Friday, December 15, 2023
December 14, 2023 – During a press conference Thursday in Asheville, North Carolina, North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein announced a lawsuit against HCA Healthcare for “failure to comply with the asset purchase agreement” it provided in its purchase of Mission Health System in the had completed 2019. ” says a press release. (Image credit: WLOS staff)thumb_68233.png
ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) —
Josh Stein, Attorney General of North Carolina announced on Thursday that his office is suing HCA Healthcare.
Stein said the lawsuit is being filed because HCA “failed to honor the asset purchase agreement it entered into when it purchased Mission Health System in 2019.”
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“I rarely attend a meeting or speak on the phone with someone in Western North Carolina without them expressing concerns about the quality of care provided by HCA,” Stein said.
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“Attorney General Stein alleges that HCA is failing to provide the high-quality, consistent emergency and cancer care to Western North Carolina residents to which it is committed,” an official press release states.
Stein said the situation at Mission “breaks my heart.”
“I mean, we've all been to the emergency room before. And imagine your loved one sitting in a dirty bed for two days with an IV that doesn't work and having to be taught how to turn off the machine because they can't talk.” “The underlying one The cause that causes the device to beep is an unacceptable quality of care,” said Stein.
Ed Jenest is one of those complaining about the care at Mission.
“I arrived at the hospital around 11:30 at night and was in a hospital room at 2:00 the next day,” Jenest said.
Dec%2014,%202023%20-%20North%20Carolina%20Attorney%20General%20Josh%20Stein%20announces%20lawsuit%20against%20HCA%20Healthcare%20(WLOS).
Stein, a Democrat running for governor in the 2024 election, traveled to Asheville on Thursday to announce the lawsuit at a news conference.
“The for-profit HCA has broken its promise to the people of Western North Carolina and to my office,” Stein said in a released statement. “Quality healthcare is too important – in some cases a matter of life and death.” But HCA appears to care more about its profits than its patients.”
In November, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services began an investigation into Mission Hospital's emergency room.
“Based on their response during the Department of Health and Joint Commission investigations, they have the ability to staff us immediately,” said emergency room nurse Hannah Drummond. “So if HCA decides to cancel, that's it. Fingers, they can fix this immediately.”
On October 31, 2023, Stein's office sent a letter to Dogwood Health Trust – the nonprofit responsible for the use of the approximately $1.5 billion HCA spent in purchasing Mission Health in 2019 – and made the organization becomes aware of an alleged breach of contract.
The letter alleged that HCA failed to meet its obligations under two sections of the Asset Purchase Agreement (APA) signed in connection with HCA Healthcare's 2019 acquisition of Mission Health:
Section 7.13 of the APA states that HCA Healthcare “shall not cease providing the services set forth in Exhibit 7.13 at the various Mission Health facilities for a period of ten (10) years immediately following the closing date” of the transaction. , “subject to force majeure rendering the provision of these services impossible or commercially unreasonable.” Schedule 7.13 then lists a range of inpatient and outpatient services, including oncology services and emergency and trauma services.
The Attorney General's notice to Dogwood Health Trust triggered a 40-day period within which the organization could “attempt to correct the alleged error. “Id. If the error persists beyond this 40-day window, the Attorney General has the authority to file suit.”
“We continually made them (HCA) aware of the problems and told them that they needed to fix these problems and they didn’t,” Stein said. “Because they didn’t do it, we’re bringing this action today.”
Stein said the mission's nurses and staff “deserve our thanks, but they and their patients also deserve better.”
“Mission HCA’s doctors, nurses and medical staff have worn themselves to the bone caring for patients without the resources or support they need,” Stein said in a news release. “I will take HCA to court to ensure that it abides by the agreement it made when it purchased the nonprofit Mission in 2019. This is what the people of Western North Carolina deserve.”
“It’s time for this evil company to be held accountable,” Drummond said.
Stein is asking the court to order HCA to restore emergency and trauma services and oncology services to the levels Mission Hospital provided before HCA took over, the release said.
“There is absolutely nothing that would prevent HCA from substantively engaging our office and addressing these issues today,” Stein said.
Nancy Lindell, director of media and public relations at Mission Health, released the following statement on the matter:
We are aware of the announcement that gubernatorial candidate Stein made today in Asheville. We remain confident that we will continue to meet, and often exceed, our obligations under the Asset Purchase Agreement approved by the Attorney General at the time of our purchase, and we intend to vigorously defend the lawsuit. Importantly, the Independent Monitor confirmed compliance with this agreement at its last inspection.
Although there have been challenges, some of which we continue to address as we work to expand our capacity, we remain committed to serving our community. Although the state will not allow major expansions at Mission Hospital, we will continue to fight for critical access to health care services for the people of Western North Carolina. As the Attorney General acknowledged, this lawsuit is not a reflection of the commitment of our doctors, nurses and colleagues who care for our patients every day. This lawsuit will have no impact on our commitment to the community we proudly serve.
The independent monitor's latest results are from 2022, with 2023 results not being published until spring next year.
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