C.E.O. Denies Reform Forces Hospital Sale

[JimR-OCDS]

From CNS, staff and other sources

Kevin Cook’s off-the-cuff comments in a televised interview inadvertently launched a national controversy over the near-term impact of pending health care reform measures. Now Mr. Cook, head of a Scranton, Pa., Catholic health system, has denied widespread media reports that the decision to put three hospitals in northeastern Pennsylvania up for sale was a consequence of the health care reform bill passed in March.

“Discussions about mergers, acquisitions and strategic partnerships have been conducted in our health care community for years—long before the passage of the [Patient Protection and] Affordable Care Act,” said Mr. Cook, president and chief executive officer of Mercy Health Partners, in a statement on Oct. 10. “Our decision announced last week was due to many factors.” Cook added, “The rationale for our initiative has been mischaracterized by certain politicized media outlets and severely distorted by some special-interest groups.”

Mercy Health Partners is made up of Mercy Hospital in Scranton, Mercy Special Care Hospital in Nanticoke, Mercy Tyler Hospital in Tunkhannock and several outpatient facilities. It is part of Catholic Healthcare Partners, based in Cincinnati. Reports that health reform had forced the closing of a Catholic hospital surfaced after Cook told a Scranton television news reporter on Oct. 6 that health reform “is absolutely playing a role” in the decision to explore the sale of one or all of the hospitals. “Was it the precipitating factor in this decision? No, but was it a factor in our planning over the next five years? Absolutely,” Cook said. He said health reform changes could mean lower federal reimbursements for the Scranton-area hospitals, which already suffered from underutilization. Scranton’s population has endured a relentless decline for decades.

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Jim