High-level briefing: Regional merger scrapped | Provider chain denied | Holiday inspiration appreciated | more

The biggest investor in a nursing home chain can run but not hide from comeuppance for the chain’s alleged role in harms—including deaths—done to hundreds of patients. 

The for-profit company is Genesis HealthCare, which was once the top player in its space but is now reeling following its declaration of Chapter 11 protections last July. The investor is Joel Landau. He held a controlling stake in Genesis and hoped bankruptcy court would, per the company’s restructuring proposal, refrain from holding him liable. Last week a bankruptcy judge said it’s a no-go on that detail, Mr. Landau, who also has expressed interest in bidding on what remains of Genesis. Several national outlets have been following the story since the July filing. KFF Health News summarized the case and described the latest salient developments in a news report posted Dec. 19. Here are key excerpts. 

• In the years before filing for bankruptcy, Genesis had settled at least 155 patient injury and death lawsuits with provisions that allowed it to delay paying, sometimes for more than a year. “As a result, when Genesis filed for bankruptcy in July, it still owed $41 million out of the $58 million promised in those settlements with families of current or former residents, according to the bankruptcy and case records KFF Health News reviewed,” the outlet reports. 
   
• Genesis, Landau, private equity associate David Gefner and their attorneys did not immediately respond requests from KFF Health News for comment. In a public statement two weeks ago, David Harrington, the executive chairman of Genesis’ board of directors, “praised Landau and his company’s investment in Genesis for helping it avoid bankruptcy in 2021,” the news operation notes. “That ‘lifeline,’ he said, enabled Genesis to transform into a ‘nimble, market-based model dedicated to prioritizing resident and patient care.’”
   
• In hearings at U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Dallas, Judge Stacey G.C. Jernigan said she would not approve a sale of the company’s assets that included legal releases from liability for Landau and Gefner. An attorney representing 19 clients with lawsuits against Genesis called the judge’s ruling “a huge win for all those who were confronting the possibility that they would not be able to recover the settlements that were promised to them by Genesis prior to the bankruptcy.”
   
• Democrat Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts commented on the case over social media. “A private equity company tried to abuse the bankruptcy system to slither out of paying what they owe to neglected seniors in its nursing homes,” she posted Dec. 12. “This is a textbook case of why we need to get private equity out of healthcare altogether, and this decision is a good step forward in the fight to deliver relief for the victims of Genesis.”
   
  • The KFF Health News item is here. For additional coverage and angles, see The Wall Street Journal, Reuters and McKnight’s Long-Term Care News. 

Last summer two sizeable health systems excitedly agreed to merge. Last week they called the whole thing off. 

Four-hospital ChristianaCare in Delaware and five-hospital Virtua Health in New Jersey stated Dec. 18 they’ve changed their minds. A few observations based on local coverage: 

• The cancellation struck stakeholders and observers as rather jarring for the finality of the 180-degree turn. When the systems announced their plans to unite in July, they enthused about providing seamless healthcare services between 10 contiguous counties spanning four states. “We are excited to take this bold step to double down on our mission, multiply our excellence and ensure our legacy of high-quality care in our local communities for generations to come,” ChristianaCare CEO Janice Nevin, MD, MPH, said at the time. To this Virtua CEO Dennis Pullin, MS, added: “Together, we aim to create an integrated regional health system built on human connection, clinical excellence and a deep commitment to all people in the communities we serve.”
   
• In announcing the reversal via succinct joint statement, the two systems didn’t offer much explanation. “After thoughtful evaluation, both organizations have determined that they can best fulfill their missions to serve their communities by continuing to operate independently,” ChristianaCare’s newsroom posted. “Each health system remains committed to providing high quality, compassionate care and advancing the health and well-being of the patients and communities they serve.”
   
• The combined entity would have covered more than 10 contiguous counties in New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania and Maryland. It would have run more than 600 facilities, employed nearly 30,000 workers and supported more than 500 residents and fellows. “The deal represented a potential mega-merger in the mid-Atlantic region and a power move from ChristianaCare, which has been expanding north of Delaware for years,” Spotlight Delaware reported Dec. 18. “Since 2020, ChristianaCare has ventured deeper into the Philadelphia health market, purchasing defunct hospitals and building their own in the surrounding towns.” The outlet notes that, had the merger reached the finish line, the resulting system planned to partner with the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, aka CHOP, “leaving Delaware’s chief pediatric hospital”—Nemours in Wilmington—“on the sidelines.”
   
• The proposed deal was positioned to strengthen access to care, expand clinical services and improve long-term sustainability amid continued consolidation in the healthcare industry. So notes the Delaware Business Times. “The decision to vacate the potential merger leaves ChristianaCare to continue operating independently as Delaware’s healthcare landscape continues to evolve while navigating rising costs, workforce shortages and shifting patient demand,” the outlet points out. “No changes to current operations or services in either ChristianaCare or Virtua Health were announced as a result of the decision to end negotiations for their recent merger effort.”

Here’s something to brighten your pre-holiday workdays. 

It’s an inspiring message from Rick Pollack, the president and CEO of the American Hospital Association. Think of it as a stocking stuffer you can open before any official gift-unwrapping day. A taste: 

• The giving spirit of the holiday season blazes brightly every day of the year in the care that hospitals and health systems provide. “No one is turned away from their doors. Caregivers are always there, ready to care, from the onset of life to its end — and every point in between. Hospital care teams are lifesavers and difference makers in people’s lives.”
   
  • Enjoy the whole thing. 

Also worthwhile:

• HHS to overhaul childhood vaccine schedule to recommend fewer shots (News Nation)
   
• CDC funds controversial hepatitis B vaccine trial in African newborns (Science) 
   
• Is healthcare ‘burning’ yet? It is time to jump ship and completely overhaul the U.S. healthcare system (The American Spectator)

From HealthExec’s news partners:

• Mindfulness improves brain connectivity, MRI data show (Radiology Business)
   
• FDA approves new drug for genetic heart disease (Cardiovascular Business)