hospitals

Bankrupt Steward Health announces a deal that allows for the transfer of its hospitals in several states to landlord Medical Properties Trust, which would operate the facilities while seeking new owners.

A panel of the 1st District Court of Appeal rejected Attorney General Ashley Moody’s arguments that her office had the power to enter settlements that would effectively trump lawsuits by local agencies.

The hospital-insurer agreement expires Sept. 30, meaning Florida Blue clients would need to pay for their care at NCH hospitals and physician groups. Florida Blue is alerting customers of the impasse.

The three-year hospital-insurer agreement between Baptist Health and Florida Blue will expire Sept. 30. Accusations are flying from both sides, but both sides say they want to end the impasse before then.

“Certificate of need” laws, largely supported by the hospital industry, limit health facility construction in 35 states and Washington, D.C. Georgia lawmakers decided its law was complicating the reviving of two hospitals critical to their communities.

The agreement includes Rockledge Regional Medical Center and Melbourne Regional Medical Center, both in Brevard County, and Sebastian River Medical Center in Indian River County.

The ruling was a victory for the five hospitals and two school districts that want to pursue lawsuits to recover costs related to treating patients and educating children affected by the opioid epidemic.

As the fate of the Florida hospitals waits for a second round, Steward says it has a deal to sell its physicians group and reportedly has qualified offers for its Massachusetts hospitals.

The $910 million deal will make Orlando Health a managing partner in Brookwood Baptist Health, which includes five Birmingham-area hospitals, as well as affiliated physician practices and operations.

More facilities are partnering with private equity-backed firms to offer combined emergency and urgent care. But patients may not realize prices vary between the two services — often by a lot.