MASSterList: Don't let the door hit you

STEWARD POSES A MAJOR THREAT TO HEALTH CARE IN THE COMMONWEALTH, NOT TO BE UNDERSTATED. 

STEWARD has closed facilities across the country, failed to pay workers, being investigated for MEDICARE FRAUD, had MEDICAL DEVICES repossessed, sold hospital properties and much else...



The comments below are from MASSterList, not big on reporting or research:

There's no shortage of unanswered questions swirling around Steward Health Care, whose financial crisis exploded into public view last month. Let's add a new question to the list to kick off the week: now what?

The deadline Gov. Maura Healey attached to her demand for access to Steward's long-opaque financial information came and went Friday, seemingly without the resolution the governor wanted. With some key facts about Steward's fiscal footing still out of reach, it's not clear how the administration will proceed.

Right after the close of business Friday, Healey spokesperson Karissa Hand said the materials Steward did provide were "incomplete and insufficient." Meanwhile, a Steward spokesperson told the Boston Globe that it submitted audited financial statements for several years through 2021, and will do so with the 2022 version once auditors give the green light.

The ongoing wait has not won over Healey's camp.

"What Steward must do from this point forward is clear — complete an orderly transition out of Massachusetts," Hand said.

It's a bold declaration that raises more questions than it answers. What will happen to the seven licensed Steward facilities that continue to operate, or the other two that are closed or set to close, if the for-profit company does hightail it out of Massachusetts? Will another provider step in to keep those hospitals operational, or will their patients need to shift to new locations? Do Healey and her deputies have some harsher response in mind for the system that has become the state's biggest boogeyman, or is it sufficient to say, "Farewell, and don't let the door hit you on the way out?"

Maybe the week ahead will bring some clarity. — Chris Lisinski