Is Rhode Island’s Healthcare System Near Collapse?

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

Here are some recent developments in the Rhode Island healthcare system:

Care New England announced on Tuesday that it is closing Memorial Hospital in Pawtucket after its deal with Prime Healthcare collapsed.
Prime Healthcare owns Landmark Hospital in Woonsocket. Presently, Prime is being investigated by the Department of Justice.
Care New England has lost $117 million combined in the past two fiscal years.
Care New England’s proposed sale to Boston-based Partners HealthCare is in question and the failure to sell off the money-losing Memorial only puts the deal at greater risk. In the past year, Memorial lost $23 million. "We agree with and support the steps that Care New England has announced today.  We look forward to continuing our due diligence process, which will now include evaluating the impact that Care New England’s new plans for Memorial will have on its overall turnaround plan," said Rich Copp, Vice President of Communications of Partners HealthCare in an email to GoLocal on Tuesday.
Lifespan -- the state’s largest healthcare group --  is trying to reverse its own financial challenges. In 2015, Lifespan lost $9.5 million. In 2016, the financial losses jumped to $29 million.
St. Joseph Health Services pension fund went into receivership and faces a shortfall of tens of millions and over 2,700 pensioners face cuts to their pensions of potentially as much as 40 percent.
VNA of Rhode Island, one of Rhode Island’s oldest home care and hospice providers, based in Warwick, Rhode Island, announced their closure by the end of the calendar year.
Nearly every hospital is impacted, thousands of employees are at risk, and pensions are failing.
This is all before changes to Obamacare have taken place. On Friday, President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order that directs the Department of Health and Human Services, the Treasury, and the Department of Labor to “take action to increase competition, increase choice, and increase access to lower-priced, high-quality healthcare options,” said the President before signing the document. The plan will take the first steps to expand choices and alternatives to Obamacare plans and increase competition to bring down the costs for consumers. Source: GOLOCAL PROV.