Pipeline Health System LLC, an operator of a network of community hospitals and health clinics serving patients on government insurance or who are uninsured, has filed for bankruptcy, citing rising labor costs and aging facilities, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The privately held hospital owner filed for chapter 11 on Sunday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Houston to restructure roughly $603 million in senior debt and leases to address problems in the business that the company says have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The company said it plans to either sell its operations or hand the business to lenders. Pipeline blamed its bankruptcy in part on rising labor costs that cut into its margins and aging medical facilities that required significant expenditures to continue operating. The company, whose patients mostly rely on Medicare and Medicaid, said it has also had problems getting timely funding from federal and state authorities. Based in El Segundo, Calif., Pipeline operates seven so-called safety-net hospitals that provide care to vulnerable or socioeconomically disadvantaged patients. The company’s facilities include Weiss Memorial Hospital in Chicago, White Rock Medical Center in Dallas, Coast Plaza Hospital in Norwalk, Calif., East Los Angeles Doctors Hospital and Memorial Hospital of Gardena in Gardena, Calif. Read more.
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