Dive Brief:
- California Attorney General Kamala Harris has approved a conditioned deal under which Prime Healthcare would acquire six struggling hospitals currently owned by the non-profit Daughters of Charity.
- The deal, which is the largest ever overseen by Harris' office, lays out a number of conditions: According to an office release, Prime must provide charity care "at historical level" and reproductive care without "restriction or limitation," as well as invest $150 million on capital improvements and assume pension obligations for Daughters of Charity's 17,000 active and retired employees. Prime must also maintain its Medi-Cal and Medicare certifications for a decade.
- "The conditions imposed on this sale by the attorney general are extensive, and many are unprecedented," said Prime in a statement.
Dive Insight:
Parties on both sides of this controversial deal are calling this a nominal win, but their reactions have been presented with clear caveats. The California Nurses Association/National Nurses United, which had supported the deal, said it "would hope that Prime will comply with these conditions."
Dave Regan, president of the opposing SEIU-UHW, was more explicit in his doubts about Prime: "If Prime lives up to both the letter and spirit of the conditions placed on this sale, community healthcare and services for low-income families will be protected," Regan said, "but given our history with Prime, that's a big if."