Massachusetts lawmakers approve bill to close loopholes in health care market
BOSTON (AP) — The Massachusetts Legislature approved a bill Monday aimed at closing loopholes in the state’s health care market regulatory process exposed by the collapse of Steward Health Care.
The bill is also designed to increase financial transparency by gathering more information about hospital finances and assist in maintaining a more stable and sustainable health care system, according to legislature supporters.
The measure would bolster the reporting authority of the state’s Center for Health Analysis and Information and the scope of the oversight of the Health Policy Commission by adding reporting requirements for hospitals.
The bill would boost penalties for not complying with the new proposed data reporting requirements, including increasing and removing the cap on financial penalties.
“As we stare down a health care system plagued by high costs and the fallout from private equity mismanagement, we are doubling down on our responsibility to our residents by safeguarding patients, expanding access to care, and holding private equity accountable,” Democratic Senate President Karen Spilka said in a written statement.
Critics say the Steward bankruptcy shows the dangers of allowing private equity executives to seek profits by taking over hospitals, loading them with debt and stripping their assets.
The bill now heads to Democratic Gov. Maura Healey’s desk for her signature.
Texas-based Steward, which operates about 30 hospitals nationwide, filed for bankruptcy in May.
Steward worked to sell a half-dozen hospitals in Massachusetts. It received inadequate bids for two other hospitals, Carney Hospital in Boston and Nashoba Valley Medical Center in the town of Ayer, both of which have closed as a result.
A federal bankruptcy in September approved the sale of Steward’s Massachusetts hospitals.