California Attorney General Rob Bonta approved a new partnership between Oakland-based Kaiser and Apple Valley-based Providence St. Mary Medical Center, but with several conditions.
The partnership would allow the two organizations to create a new company, of which St. Mary will have 70 percent ownership and Kaiser will have 30 percent, according to a Dec. 17 news release. The two will also build a new 47-bed hospital in Victorville, Calif.
The conditions aim to better healthcare access but also create healthy competition, the release said. The conditions include:
- Price caps for current St. Mary contracts
- A reduction in profit-sharing between the two organizations and a reduction in the discount St. Mary gives Kaiser for its reimbursement rates
- St. Mary and Kaiser must remain independent entities
- Continued involvement in Medicare and Medi-Cal, California's Medicaid program
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