Brooklyn hospital sells off HMO

A Brooklyn charitable hospital that's also one of New York's largest Medicaid HMO's is selling off its managed care business to a for-profit company. Pending state approval, Lutheran Medical Center will get $85 million from the sale of Health Plus, which serves 320,000 patients on Medicaid and Medicare. CEO Wendy Goldstein said the hospital needs the money for workers' pensions, technology updates and the overall balance sheet. "We very much needed an infusion of capital to stabilize the medical center and the whole system," Goldstein said, "and capital is very difficult to come by for safety net providers."