HCA Healthcare is facing mounting pressure to give up control of Asheville, N.C.-based Mission Health, which it acquired in 2019.
Reclaim Healthcare WNC, a group of physicians, nurses, elected officials and community advocates, has criticized Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA's actions, including its move to shutter two family medicine practices, according to a July 28 editorial published in The Citizen Times.
The coalition has launched a campaign to entice a nonprofit organization to replace HCA. In addition, the North Carolina attorney general's office recently asked the state health department to deny HCA Healthcare's certificate-of-need application to add 26 acute care beds to Mission Hospital.
Tim Plaut, MD, a physician who worked at the shuttered family practices, discussed the closures and HCA's acquisition of Mission Health with Becker's.
"It's been devastating in my mind," Dr. Plaut told Becker's. "People came from all over the Southeast for our clinics."
The practices, Mission Internal and Family Medicine and Mission MyCare Plus, were included in HCA's acquisition and shuttered in 2020. Following the closure, he became chief medical officer of Asheville-based Appalachian Mountain Health before joining the VA in August 2023. For months prior to the closure, Dr. Plaut said he and his physician partner noticed it was becoming increasingly difficult to secure supplies and hire medical assistance. When they met with HCA leadership, they were told it was due to leadership transitions and that there were no plans to shutter any primary care practice, he told Becker's.
Weeks later, Dr. Plaut said, HCA spokespeople showed up to the practice to shut it down.
"We all went up front and they said something to the effect that the corporation has decided to close this practice. You have 45 days. HR will be here tomorrow to discuss next steps," he told Becker's. "That was the discussion."
Although many of the patients were absorbed by federally qualified health centers and other practices, Dr. Plaut said the care gap is still prominent.
"I know there are a lot of people who still haven't found doctors even this many years out," he said. "Our practice was a safety net practice. … Our job was set up by the previous hospital administration to keep folks out of the hospital and to keep costs down, and we did a really good job at it. We kept people healthy and we kept them out of the hospital."
HCA maintained that its primary care offerings remain robust in the region.
"We have invested more than $739 million in our facilities and to expand services in western North Carolina since 2019," Nancy Lindell, director of media and public relations for Mission Health, said in a statement shared with Becker's. "We continue to operate more than 100 physician practices. When we made the difficult decision four years ago to close two practices that were close to other locations, we notified patients and facilitated their transition to another Mission Health location for these services. In addition, we offered affected providers at the two locations other positions within our practices and facilities."
The health system is also facing a lawsuit from the North Carolina attorney general's office alleging it cut emergency and cancer care at Mission Health, lapsing on its 2019 purchase agreement.
"The current utilization of Mission Hospital's services is very high, including services related to the ICU and adult medical and surgical beds. Currently, Mission Hospital accepts thousands of patient transfers from other hospitals across the region," a spokesperson for Mission told Becker's. "These transfers reflect a need for the addition of higher acuity beds and services offered by Mission, which will meet the needs of patients in western North Carolina. Additionally, if approved, Mission believes that it can make these beds available on a more expedited timeline than other applicants."
Dr. Plaut remains concerned about the quality of care in the region.
"We want people to know what's happening," he said. "For-profit medicine is a disaster. It's just so bad for everybody. … It's unconscionable. You cannot make decisions based on profit margin if you're trying to save lives or even just help people."