The New Jersey Department of Health is backing CarePoint Health's plan to maintain the nonprofit status of its three hospitals, indicating that the state health planning board may follow suit when it hears the case on Feb. 3, according to nj.com.
CarePoint transitioned into a nonprofit organization last year after co-founder Vivek Garipalli donated his majority interest to the nonprofit. CarePoint said the move will allow it better serve its patients, many of whom are uninsured and on Medicaid.
The transition could help improve the financial health of CarePoint and its hospitals — Christ Hospital in Jersey City, Hoboken University Medical Center and Bayonne Medical Center — but blocking the move would hinder the health system as it already became a nonprofit without state approval and would then need to revert back to for-profit status, according to the report.
The approval would also pave the way for the sale of a further 39.1 percent of CarePoint to BMC Hospital, which would bring the healthcare operator's share to just under 50 percent, according to nj.com.
In July, the state department of health allowed CarePoint to delay its application for the transfer of ownership by six months after the department recommended denial of the application.
Many local leaders have supported the plan, including the mayors of Bayonne and Hoboken. However, Hudson Regional Hospital in Secaucus, N.J. — which owns the land on which Bayonne Medical Center is built — opposes the transition, arguing that it would enable CarePoint to expand its reach. Hudson Regional officials also reminded the state that CarePoint's predecessor was a nonprofit and went bankrupt.
The state health planning board is expected to make a final decision on Feb. 2 when it reviews CarePoint's certificate-of-need application.