ASHEVILLE – An independent monitor said the owners of for-profit Mission Health violated a contract they signed in 2019 when they bought a major Western North Carolina health care provider that was then a nonprofit.
In a July 12 report, Affiliated Monitors cited problems at HCA Healthcare with emergency and oncology services, Medicare and Medicaid compliance and charity care.
Two of those issues – emergency room and cancer care – are currently the subject of a lawsuit filed against HCA by North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein, and Affiliated Monitors acknowledged that the ultimate issue of compliance will best be decided in court.
While the watchdog described its findings as “potential” noncompliance, it ultimately recommended that Dogwood Trust, an entity set up with $1.5 billion HCA paid for the health system, find that the company had violated its contract.
“The independent monitor recommended that Dogwood Health Trust be found to have found that HCA Healthcare is not in compliance with its asset purchase agreements for fiscal year 2023,” AMI said in its report.
This story will be updated.
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Joel Burgess has lived in WNC for more than 20 years and has covered politics, government and other news. He has written award-winning articles on topics ranging from redistricting to police use of force. Have a tip? Contact Burgess at jburgess@citizentimes.com, 828-713-1095 or on Twitter @AVLreporter. Support journalism like this by subscribing to the Citizen Times.
