BOSTON — Bankrupt Steward Health Care System is delaying hearings on the sale of its Massachusetts hospitals by another two weeks, as the company finalizes lease terms and state funding, according to a new court filing.
The delay, which pushes back the hearing date to Aug. 13, comes two days before the company was scheduled to appear before a federal bankruptcy judge in Texas to receive approval to sell its hospitals in Massachusetts, Arkansas, Louisiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania to pay off creditors.
The company didn’t cite a reason for the delay and it is not clear if U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez will approve the request.
Steward, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in May, is putting its 31 U.S. hospitals up for sale beginning this month to pay down $9 billion in outstanding liabilities owed to creditors as part of the bankruptcy proceedings. The company has eight hospitals in Massachusetts, two of which are being closed.
Steward has received bids for the six hospitals, including Holy Family Hospital in Methuen and Haverhill, but has yet to identify bidders or disclose the sale prices. It plans to sell its hospitals in Dorchester and Ayer after failing to reach adequate terms with prospective buyers.
Meanwhile, the state’s taxpayers could be on the hook for $30 million to support Steward’s hospitals as they are shut down or transitioned to new owners.
A proposal filed by Steward on Friday as an emergency motion seeks approval of the payment and an expedited plan to close Carney Hospital in Dorchester and Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer as part of the bankruptcy proceedings. It’s not clear if that request has been approved.
Karissa Hand, a spokeswoman for Gov. Maura Healey, said the $30 million, which does not require legislative approval, will “ensure that patients can continue to access care and workers can keep their jobs until Carney and Nashoba Valley close and the remaining hospitals are transitioned to new owners.”
“Because of Steward and Ralph de la Torre’s greed and mismanagement, these hospitals are in bankruptcy and starved of the resources needed to keep operating for another month,” she said in a statement.
The payments are “advances” on Medicaid funding that the state owes Steward, according to the Healey administration, and cannot be used for rent payments, debt service or management fees.
Healey has blasted the company’s decision to close the two hospitals and called on the company to disclose details of the sale of the other hospitals.
“It is time for Steward and their real estate partners to finally put the communities they serve over their own selfish greed,” she said in a statement Friday. “They need to finalize these deals that are in their best interest and the best interest of patients and workers.”
Christian M. Wade covers the Massachusetts Statehouse for North of Boston Media Group’s newspapers and websites. Email him at cwade@cnhinews.com.