Healey says no bailout for Steward Health Care as financial woes continue

State officials stepped up their rhetoric against Steward Health Care on Friday as the fallout of the company’s financial struggles continued.

Gov. Maura Healey said her administration is monitoring the unfolding crisis and developing plans to stabilize the state’s health care system.

The for-profit Steward network — one of the state's biggest hospital operators — is in grave financial distress and may be on the brink of failure, according to health care leaders and state officials.

“We've not seen a plan from Steward,” Healey told reporters after addressing the Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association annual meeting Friday. “People should know this: Our goal is going to be to make sure that patients are protected, that jobs are protected and that the health care system in Massachusetts is stabilized.”

Appearing later on WBUR’s Radio Boston, Healey was asked whether Steward would receive a bailout from the state.

“No, Steward’s not going to get bailed out,” she said.

Steward operates nine Massachusetts hospitals in communities including Brighton, Brockton, Dorchester, Methuen, Haverhill, Taunton and Ayer. The company was founded in 2010 by the private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management. It’s run by Dr. Ralph de la Torre, a cardiac surgeon-turned-executive who eventually moved the company’s headquarters from Boston to Dallas and bought dozens of hospitals across the country.

Steward is a rarity in Massachusetts, where most hospitals are structured as nonprofits, and it operates in relative secrecy. It does not file detailed financial information with state officials — as required of all hospital systems — and is in litigation to avoid disclosing the documents.

David Seltz, executive director of the Health Policy Commission, a state watchdog agency, told hospital leaders Friday that Steward executives are flouting the law.

“Transparency is about trust, and it's about having the information so that policymakers and the public can understand the performance of our health care system,” Seltz said.

“The obstinate refusal by Steward corporate leadership to hand over these legally mandated reports is a grave disservice to the public, to the patients that are served by that system and to the workers of that system.”

Steward officials have blamed low reimbursement rates from insurers for causing devastating financial losses at many community hospitals, including Steward hospitals, and said these losses may “jeopardize their ability to continue to offer services.”

The company has declined to make anyone available for an interview.

Steward's troubles have triggered a flurry of discussions among health care executives, public officials and labor union representatives who are all scrambling to understand and respond to the fast-moving situation.

Leaders at Mass General Brigham said Friday that they have pulled a group of their physicians from Holy Family, a Steward hospital with sites in Methuen and Haverhill. The Mass General Brigham physicians provide surgeries and other procedures at Holy Family.

“After hearing that certain surgical equipment may not be available, we made the decision to reschedule upcoming orthopedic and [gastrointestinal] procedures at Holy Family Hospital. We have contacted impacted patients, and we are working to reschedule their procedures as soon as possible at a nearby Mass General Brigham or community hospital location,” Dr. Tom Sequist, chief medical officer at Mass General Brigham, said in a statement.

Steward officials said they were disappointed by the move, and that Mass General Brigham's decision will exacerbate health inequities in the community.

“The fact that one of the largest health care providers in Massachusetts rescinded their care underscores the fact that Steward hospitals do not receive the support they need, nor the recognition of the quality care they provide,” Steward said in a statement.

It’s unclear which Steward facilities ultimately may stay open and which could close. One Steward hospital in Norwood has been closed since a flooding incident in 2020.

Health care leaders and public officials have been discussing several options, including the possibility that other health systems could take over certain Steward’s facilities, according to people familiar with the discussions. Other options include declaring a public health emergency, which would give the state more power over the Steward hospitals.

Dr. Abha Agrawal, chief executive of Lawrence General Hospital, said her hospital is prepared to help patients whose care may be disrupted at Steward.

“Our most important goals, collectively, should be: ‘How do we make sure nobody gets harmed, that the patients and communities are safe?’ ” Agrawal said. “We stand ready, willing and able to be a part of the solution.”

Deborah Becker contributed to this report.