Another Coalition Asks For Slowdown on Caritas Christi – Cerberus Plans

There is yet another story in today’s Globe – this by staffer Robert Weisman – about the Caritas Christi sale. A coalition organized by consumer advocacy group Health Care for All including twenty community groups, health care providers, and lawmakers is asking Attorney General Martha Coakley and Public Health Commissioner  John Auerbach to pull the reins and slow the approval process for the proposed sale of the Caritas Christi Health Care system to Cerberus Capital Management. Looking for a review conducted in a “deliberate, transparent, and inclusive’’ manner, the letter cites that the investment goal of this “for-profit” might clash with the needs of the Massachusetts health care system.

Acoording to the article there is no known timetable for the AG or the Commissioner  – “Neither the attorney general’s office nor the Department of Public Health has disclosed its timetable for ruling on the Caritas transaction, but decisions had been expected this fall.”

One of the six Caritas Christi Heath Care System hospitals – Holy Family Hospital in Methuen – services the health care needs of many communities in the Merrimack Valley.

Read the full Globe article with comments from the stakeholders on both sides of the issue here.