Deadline looms on Prime purchase of Daughters of Charity hospitals

State Attorney General Kamala Harris has until the end of the week to decide whether to approve the sale of six nonprofit Daughters of Charity hospitals to a for-profit Southern California company that has come under federal investigation for questionable billing practices and has a reputation for slashing services. There's a saying among charitable endeavors: "There's no mission without a margin." Executives of the Catholic hospital chain say they're not only teetering on the edge of bankruptcy, but down to their last Hail Mary pass. And that would be a sale to Prime Healthcare Services.