Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey and Steward Health Care CEO Ralph de la Torre, MD, continue to assure the public that the health system's hospitals will provide good care despite the company recently filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
The Dallas-based company also has shared that its 31 hospitals are up for sale and revealed that the health system is $9 billion in debt.
But Robert Kuttner, a coeditor of The American Prospect and professor at Brandeis University Heller School in Waltham, Mass., has questioned why Ms. Healey's administration is echoing the "happy talk" that Dr. de la Torre has continued to bolster throughout Steward's financial demise in a May 8 Boston Globe opinion piece.
"I want to be very clear in telling the public that these hospitals will remain open and folks should continue to keep their appointments and seek care as needed, including if you need to see an emergency room," Ms. Healey said during a May 6 news conference, according to the Globe .
While Steward's Massachusetts hospitals may remain open, Mr. Kuttner pointed to the severe erosion of their quality.
In fact, Brockton, Mass.-based Good Samaritan Medical Center, Boston-based St. Elizabeth's Medical Center, and Boston-based Carney Hospital all received three star ratings out of five from Medicare.gov. Morton Hospital in Taunton, Mass., and Holy Family Hospital in Methuen, Mass., received two stars. All are Steward-operated facilities.
Regardless of quality, Ms. Healey has pushed to keep the hospitals open and operating until they can be sold to another operator to keep a state bailout from happening, Mr. Kuttner said.
However, Ms. Healey and Dr. de la Torre do have one thing in common, a goal to keep patients from abandoning Steward hospitals in Massachusetts, which could make finding a buyer for the hospitals more difficult.
While reducing Steward's debt will be helpful for the health system's balance sheet, Mr. Kuttner fears it won't be enough money to make sure the hospitals are providing sufficient care to patients.
"Despite the governor’s reassurance that the 'hospitals will remain open and folks should continue to keep their appointments,' I would not seek care there," Mr. Kuttner said. "I'm not sure that the governor would either."
Read the full op-ed here.