Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes has launched an investigation into what led to Dallas-based Steward Health Care filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on May 6.
The health system also recently shared that it is $9 billion in debt and has plans to sell all 31 of its hospitals, four of which are in Arizona and have a proposed auction date of June 28, according to a May 10 news release from Ms. Mayes.
Steward's Arizona hospitals include: Florence (Ariz.) Hospital, Mountain Vista Medical Center in Mesa, Ariz., St. Luke's Behavioral Health Center in Phoenix, and Tempe (Ariz.) St. Luke's Hospital.
Along with the hospitals, Steward also operates multiple medical practices across the state.
"Arizonans deserve to know more about the circumstances that led to Steward's bankruptcy filing," Ms. Mayes said in the release. "I am deeply concerned about the potential impact this could have on Arizona patients and medical providers. No matter who ultimately ends up owning and operating these facilities, I am committed to ensuring that no Arizonan is harmed by this bankruptcy, and I will fight to ensure that these hospitals remain open at all times to care for patients without any degradation of service."
Ms. Mayes has vowed to protect patient health information and employee records and to advocate for vendors and employees to receive pay that they are entitled to.
"She will also fight to ensure that prospective buyers do not take advantage of Steward’s bankruptcy to acquire hospitals or medical practices when those buyers would otherwise be barred from acquiring them due to the antitrust laws," the release said.
Becker's has reached out to Steward for comment and will update this story should more information become available.