A major showdown in the bankruptcy of Hahnemann University Hospital and St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children is slated for Wednesday afternoon, when a judge in Wilmington, Del., will be asked to approve the sale of Hahnemann’s medical residency programs to a consortium of six Philadelphia-area health systems for $55 million, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The unexpectedly high price is potentially a “game-changer” for the bankruptcy, Mark Minuti, the bankrupt hospitals’ lead attorney, with Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr LLP, said in court on Aug. 19. The children’s hospital will be subject to a separate sale process this month. But federal regulators at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) want the judge to block the proposed sale, which would ultimately redistribute Hahnemann’s 570 residency slots to the coalition members, saying it “is contrary to law and contravenes CMS regulations.” If the judge rules in favor of CMS, that could force Hahnemann’s parent company to find a new strategy to begin paying off creditors. Also at risk for the Philadelphia region, a health-care hub, is the loss of hundreds of highly sought doctors-in-training paid for by Medicare. Read more.
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