Steward hospitals question earnings data

BOSTON (AP) — Officials at for-profit hospital chain Steward Health Care System are taking issue with state figures that show that nine of the company's 10 hospitals in Massachusetts lost money in the first quarter of this year. Quincy Medical Center, which Steward acquired in 2011, reported the system's largest loss — $5.6 million, according to data included in a report from the state Center for Health Information and Analysis. Saint Anne's Hospital in Fall River was the only profitable Steward hospital, with earnings of $4.7 million. Total Steward hospital losses narrowed to $12.2 million in the first quarter of 2013 from $14.3 million in the same quarter a year ago.