'Increasingly urgent': Mass. ratchets up preparation for possible Steward closures

Officials from Gov. Maura Healey's administration are holding new talks with health care leaders to manage the growing uncertainty about the future of Steward Health Care.

Next week, the administration will kick off a series of regional meetings with hospitals and community health centers in areas where Steward operates to discuss how to help patients in the event Steward cuts back on care or closes facilities.

Public officials and health care leaders are concerned that any potential closures could overwhelm the state’s already stressed health care system.

A letter inviting health care leaders to the meetings, which was obtained by WBUR, described the situation as “increasingly urgent.”

“It is important that we move quickly and think and plan collaboratively,” the letter said.

In a statement, the state's commissioner of public health, Dr. Robbie Goldstein, said the meetings are intended to "provide updates about the work that the state is doing, answer questions and hear concerns from participants, and strategize about how we can work together to meet the needs of patients and providers.”

The virtual meetings will begin April 18, and will focus on how to preserve access to medical, surgical, maternity and emergency care. Future forums will address behavioral health, workforce issues and clinical training programs, according to state officials.

Not on the table for discussion, officials said, is the potential acquisition of Steward facilities. State officials also will not discuss financial support for specific health care providers.

Steve Walsh, president of the Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association — which is co-hosting the meetings along with the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers and the Department of Public Health — applauded the state for convening the discussions.

“We know it will take intense collaboration to ensure every patient and community has access to the care services they need,” Walsh said in a statement.

Steward, a privately owned, for-profit company, has among the biggest hospital and physician networks in the state. The company was founded in Massachusetts with private equity backing in 2010. It later went national, scooping up hospitals across the country,  and moved its headquarters to Texas.

But Steward is struggling financially. It has failed to pay vendors, according to court records and interviews, and has fallen tens of millions of dollars behind on rent, according to its landlord, Medical Properties Trust.

Steward executives have said they’re working to stabilize finances, in part by selling assets — including doctors and hospitals. Last month, they announced a plan to sell their network of doctors to Optum, a division of the for-profit health care giant UnitedHealth Group.

State and federal officials will review the deal. Officials at the Massachusetts Health Policy Commission, a watchdog agency that monitors the health care market, said Thursday they are seeking more information from Steward and Optum before beginning their review.

Steward’s network includes about 2,950 doctors in Massachusetts, according to the commission, in addition to doctors in several other states.

Members of the commission said the Steward-Optum deal raises numerous questions about health care access — including how the potential sale of Steward’s physician network would affect care at its hospitals.

“I think the underpinning piece is: What happens to patients? And what happens to the small community hospitals out there, in terms of their ability to stay viable and to provide care?” commissioner Barbara Blakeney said. “The impact of this is mind-bogglingly complex, and potentially harmful.”

Steward declined to comment Thursday.