MedCath, a Charlotte-based hospital operator that once had annual revenue of $636 million, is filing paperwork to dissolve Friday, brought down by changing regulations, consolidation, and a heavy reliance on the rapidly changing business of cardiac care. The company already has finished selling off its eight majority-owned hospitals, its two minority stakes in hospitals, and other cardiac care practices. After filing a certificate of dissolution in Delaware on Friday, the company will distribute $6.33 per share to its stockholders and halt trading of its shares for good.
The state of Arizona has filed a lawsuit against McKesson Corp., alleging the nation's largest drug wholesaler has artificially inflated the prices of more than 400 brand-name prescription drugs. Among the drugs that are alleged to have been marked-up inappropriately are: Allegra, Azmacort, Celebrex, Coumadin, Flonase, Lipitor, Neurontin, Nexium, Prevacid and Valium. The complaint was filed in Maricopa County Superior Court, alleging that the scheme began in 2000 to mark up the average wholesale price of many prescription drugs, costing consumers millions of dollars, according to Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne. The San Francisco company controls about one-third of the national wholesale drug distribution market, Horne said.
Florida Hospital's relationship with the University of Central Florida's College of Medicine is showing serious signs of strain, according to emails obtained by Orlando Business Journal. It’s not every day that I get a public records request back with a joint statement from two of Central Florida's most influential names. In the Sept. 21 issue of Orlando Business Journal, we have a story about the growing strain in the relationship between the University of Central Florida's College of Medicine and Florida Hospital. Rumors have been circulating for months that the relationship had gone sour. In this public records request, we got several emails between leadership at UCF and Florida Hospital from February and August. You can download the emails here.
Mid Coast Hospital filed an application with the state Wednesday to take over Parkview Adventist Medical Center in Brunswick. Mid Coast's application rebuts a filing last month by Central Maine Healthcare of Lewiston, which also seeks to take control of Parkview, and would avoid what Mid Coast said would be a "medical arms race" in the Brunswick region. Mid Coast argues that decisions about healthcare in the Brunswick area should remain in the Brunswick area. Central Maine Healthcare officials have said their proposal is consistent with what has already happened numerous times in Maine and beyond—namely large hospitals taking over smaller ones while allowing them to remain in existence.
Group Health Cooperative is reorganizing in the midst of grim financial results, with the resignation of its chief financial officer and a notice to employees that job cuts are down the road. The Seattle-based health system needs to cut annual expenses by $250 million by the end of 2013, CEO Scott Armstrong said in an email to employees. Richard Magnuson, executive vice president and chief financial and administrative officer, is leaving in the next few weeks. Group Health officials said Magnuson's resignation was prompted by a larger reorganization already in motion.
The University of Louisville has again delayed choosing a new partner that would help University Hospital compete with growing hospital chains, but officials say negotiations continue and they now expect a resolution by the end of the year. Officials first postponed a decision in April, pushing it to June, and most recently said they said they were expecting an announcement by the end of September. In a joint statement Thursday, Jim Taylor, president and chief executive officer of University Medical Center, and Dr. David Dunn, U of L's executive vice president for health affairs, said they are continuing discussions with possible parnters and are working through "the technical details required in the negotiations."