As part of a planned agreement, Optum would purchase the physician group at Steward Health Care

Steward Health Care intends to sell its physician group to Optum, a division of UnitedHealth Group, according to paperwork submitted to Massachusetts state authorities. In addition to a physician contracting network, Stewardship Health organization encompasses primary care and additional physicians throughout nine states. 

The transaction price was not made public. According to the documents, the firms have indicated that the transaction might conclude within the second quarter of this year. The Massachusetts Health Policy Commission (HPC) has thirty days to assess the agreement or request further information from the companies.

HPC Executive Director David Seltz stated in a statement, “This is a significant proposed change involving two large medical providers, both in Massachusetts and nationally, with important implications for the delivery and cost of healthcare across Massachusetts.” The HPC will study the proposal’s specifics to assess any effects on healthcare costs, quality, access, and equity. For months, the Dallas-based for-profit company Steward has faced criticism due to its significant debt. Government representatives have demanded that Steward plan a departure from the state that doesn’t include any disruptions to care services because the firm operates multiple hospitals in Massachusetts that are in danger of closing.

Steward announced last month that the company’s financiers had authorized a $150 million liquidity injection and to reset its operations and address vendor obligations.

However, several well-known politicians are already becoming concerned about the possible sale to Optum. Thanks to several buyouts, the firm currently employs over 90,000 physicians. It is also allegedly the focus of a federal antitrust investigation due to its affiliation with UnitedHealthcare, the insurance division of parent company UnitedHealth Group.

Sen. Ed Markey, a Democrat from Massachusetts, stated that he hopes that Optum will live up to that responsibility by controlling costs and putting patients and providers first.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) and Markey have both cited Steward as an excellent example of corporate malpractice in the healthcare industry. Its connections to the private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management, which they and others claim bought the system in 2010 just to drain its resources and load it down with debt, have also drawn criticism.