On Thursday, the state Department of Health said it issued an immediate compliance order “after a thorough, extensive review by RIDOH determined that Prospect’s underfunding of the hospitals is impacting operations.”
At least 19 elective surgeries were canceled at Prospect’s Rhode Island hospitals, Roger Williams Medical Center and Our Lady of Fatima, in October “because the proper equipment and supplies were not available because of non-payment to vendors,” the Health Department said in a news release.
DOH said these issues “are part of a pattern of Prospect Medical Holdings engaging in non-compliance and creating delays in making required disclosures of financial information.”
Otis Brown, spokesman for PMH’s Rhode Island properties, said in a statement, “The letter we received from the Department of Health referencing this action was delivered simultaneously with the issuance of their press release. We have no comment as we have not had an opportunity to review the letter and its implications.”
Attorney General Peter Neronha, whose office is monitoring a 2021 change in Prospect’s ownership, tweeted that he was glad the Health Department was “in the game.”
At the same time, Neronha’s office expressed frustration about DOH’s compliance order involving Prospect.
“We are unsure why RIDOH took this administrative action today,” Neronha spokesman Brian Hodge said via email. “We were not consulted in advance of the filing.”
Separately, The Public’s Radio — which recently reported on how Prospect was behind in paying operating expenses for its Rhode Island hospitals — learned that Neronha has taken court action, under seal, against Prospect for financial issues.
Hodge, while declining to confirm that, said, “This office has already taken stronger action in recent days with respect to Prospect, and we expect to be able to share that action with the public in a matter of days.”
Among Rhode Island public officials, Neronha has been most outspoken in confronting Prospect Medical, whose two top executives are among those who have shared in hundreds of millions of dollars in dividends from the company’s chain of nationwide hospitals.
In 2021, Neronha issued a decision, requiring Prospect to pay $80 million in escrow in leverage, to help ensure the operation of its two Rhode Island hospitals. He has said that without the escrow, Prospect — which has closed and downgraded hospitals in other states — would have likely closed Roger Williams and Fatima.
The high profile focus on Neronha, a prospective gubernatorial candidate in 2026, has irritated Gov. Dan McKee, The Public’s Radio has learned. A source close to McKee rejected that view.
Senate President Dominick Ruggerio, whose district includes Fatima, said in a statement that he “will continue to closely monitor this situation, and I am grateful to Attorney General Peter Neronha for his ongoing vigilance and diligence regarding this matter.”
The Centurion Foundation of Georgia faces a deadline Tuesday for submitting a revised application to buy the Rhode Island properties of Prospect Medical Holdings.
The CEO of CharterCARE Health Partners, the immediate parent of Roger Williams and Fatima, recently sent an email asking employees to avoid commenting to state regulators on the prospective purchase.
“As we go through the final stages of responding to questions from the RI Department of Health and Attorney General on the application for The Centurion Foundation to purchase CharterCARE, I would ask that if any representatives from those state agencies happen to reach out to you for any information, that you refer them to my office immediately,” Jeffrey Liebman wrote in the email.
This story has been updated.
Ian Donnis can be reached at idonnis@thepublicsradio.org
