Ralph de la Torre, MD, CEO of Boston-based Steward Health Care, has lambasted Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Kilmartin for an "unwelcome attitude to Steward" and disappointing behavior in mediating an agreement with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Rhode Island.
The facilitation issue revolves around contract negotiations between Steward — the pending buyer of Landmark Medical Center in Woonsocket, R.I. — and BCBSRI. The hospital has been in receivership for four years.
In a four-page August 8 letter to the attorney general — obtained by WPRI-12 — Dr. de la Torre said, "Steward has spent many years trying to help Landmark and the Woonsocket community where certainly it appears everyone else in Rhode Island could care less. Your tone in both ending your efforts in this facilitation and reminding us of your deadline only underscored Rhode Island's unwelcome attitude to Steward."
In early July, the payor announced it may cut ties with Landmark due to stalled negotiations. Woonsocket Mayor Leo Fontaine later called for an AG review of talks between Steward and BCBSRI due to antitrust concerns.
Dr. de la Torre's letter details numerous stalled meetings and attempts to reach an agreement with the payor. He called the AG's characterizations of BCBSRI's negotiation attempts "uninformed" and "biased." He also said BCBSRI CEO Peter Andruszkiewicz's "glacial pace and self-aggrandizing nature of his efforts to find a solution are an embarrassment."
Dr. de la Torre says Steward has asked the payor for approximately $3 million in rate increases to replicate its Boston healthcare delivery model at Landmark, and "it is becoming increasingly clear to us that we are unwelcome," according to the letter.
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The facilitation issue revolves around contract negotiations between Steward — the pending buyer of Landmark Medical Center in Woonsocket, R.I. — and BCBSRI. The hospital has been in receivership for four years.
In a four-page August 8 letter to the attorney general — obtained by WPRI-12 — Dr. de la Torre said, "Steward has spent many years trying to help Landmark and the Woonsocket community where certainly it appears everyone else in Rhode Island could care less. Your tone in both ending your efforts in this facilitation and reminding us of your deadline only underscored Rhode Island's unwelcome attitude to Steward."
In early July, the payor announced it may cut ties with Landmark due to stalled negotiations. Woonsocket Mayor Leo Fontaine later called for an AG review of talks between Steward and BCBSRI due to antitrust concerns.
Dr. de la Torre's letter details numerous stalled meetings and attempts to reach an agreement with the payor. He called the AG's characterizations of BCBSRI's negotiation attempts "uninformed" and "biased." He also said BCBSRI CEO Peter Andruszkiewicz's "glacial pace and self-aggrandizing nature of his efforts to find a solution are an embarrassment."
Dr. de la Torre says Steward has asked the payor for approximately $3 million in rate increases to replicate its Boston healthcare delivery model at Landmark, and "it is becoming increasingly clear to us that we are unwelcome," according to the letter.
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