More historical background:
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Central Health’s 2013 master agreement with Ascension contains an attached “option agreement” authorizing it to purchase the Teaching Hospital if Ascension materially breaches the contract and the matter is not settled through dispute resolution.
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The arrangement dates to a time when voters were asked to help fund Dell Medical School in return for a guarantee that the new medical complex would help care for the indigent population of Travis County.
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In its lawsuit, Central Health asked for a declaratory judgment that Ascension has materially breached the contract, allowing Central Health to terminate the deal and exercise its purchase option.
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The teaching hospital is built on land owned by the University of Texas at Austin, but Seton owns the hospital. The option agreement covers not only the hospital building but also all supplies, equipment, inventory, and fixtures.
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“What we’re alleging is a material breach of the contract that starts the clock running on that option to purchase the hospital,” said attorney Casey Dobson of Scott Douglass & McConnico, the law firm representing Central Health.
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“The option was created specifically as a last resort safety valve for this situation where Central Health would have the ability to purchase the hospital if Ascension was not living up to their bargain. And Ascension, we’ve alleged, is not living up to their bargain, so that’s why we’ve asked the court for a declaration that the option is operative,” Dobson added.
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Central Health says Ascension has “failed to provide agreed-upon healthcare services to low-income Travis County residents,” improperly billed charity care patients, and has not provided reports that Central Health needs to monitor its compliance with performance standards.
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More specifically, the lawsuit alleges that Ascension eliminated certain services, imposed a monthly cap on the number of surgeries it would provide for indigent patients, and required long wait times for surgeries and other services.
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As a result, the lawsuit states, Central Health has been compelled to contract with other providers to fill gaps in care. “These additional contracts come at a cost, totaling millions of dollars in the aggregate.”
https://theaustinbulldog.org/ascension-hospital-lawsuit/