Massachusetts hospitals are not being appropriately monitored by the independent state agency responsible for oversight of their financial conditions, according to a new report from the Office of the State Auditor. Auditor Diana DiZoglio’s office said it reviewed two years of records from the Center for Health Information and Analysis, an independent state agency. During that period, six acute care hospitals notified the state of their decision to close or discontinue essential services, but the auditor’s office said they found no sign of financial stress in the records. “CHIA’s 2021 and 2022 Massachusetts Acute Hospital Financial Performance Reports make no mention of these six acute care hospitals being at risk for closure or discontinuing essential services,” DiZoglio’s office wrote in a summary.While the records audited did not come from 2024, when the bankruptcy of Steward Health Care led to the closure of two hospitals and the sale of six others, DiZoglio’s office also noted that it found no health system profiles for any of the eight Steward hospitals during the audit period.In total, the report finds that financial statements were not collected for 10 acute care facilities during the audit period and the agency failed to assess $1,613,000 in fines associated with those omissions. Both of the associated owners, Steward and Heywood Healthcare, have since filed for bankruptcy. “By not receiving, analyzing, and reporting on data related to hospitals and health systems in Massachusetts, CHIA limited its own ability to identify and address concerns regarding hospitals at risk of closing. This may have prevented policymakers from becoming aware of these issues and taking actions to prevent or soften the impacts of these issues,” the Auditor’s office wrote. DiZoglio’s audit also criticizes CHIA for failing to publicize its CompareCare website and for failing to include some required information. The page is intended to offer comparison tools explaining the costs of certain medical procedures at various facilities. “People must have access to the vital health care services they need,” DiZoglio said in a statement. “Hospital closures in recent years, however, have left patients worried about where they can access care and resulted in job losses for invaluable nurses and healthcare workers. Our audit of the Center for Health Information and Analysis revealed a startling lack of oversight around the financial conditions of hospitals in the Commonwealth. We urge the Administration to swiftly implement our recommendations and will be revisiting these issues in roughly six months to track progress.”
Massachusetts hospitals are not being appropriately monitored by the independent state agency responsible for oversight of their financial conditions, according to a new report from the Office of the State Auditor.
Auditor Diana DiZoglio’s office said it reviewed two years of records from the Center for Health Information and Analysis, an independent state agency. During that period, six acute care hospitals notified the state of their decision to close or discontinue essential services, but the auditor’s office said they found no sign of financial stress in the records.
“CHIA’s 2021 and 2022 Massachusetts Acute Hospital Financial Performance Reports make no mention of these six acute care hospitals being at risk for closure or discontinuing essential services,” DiZoglio’s office wrote in a summary.
While the records audited did not come from 2024, when the bankruptcy of Steward Health Care led to the closure of two hospitals and the sale of six others, DiZoglio’s office also noted that it found no health system profiles for any of the eight Steward hospitals during the audit period.
In total, the report finds that financial statements were not collected for 10 acute care facilities during the audit period and the agency failed to assess $1,613,000 in fines associated with those omissions. Both of the associated owners, Steward and Heywood Healthcare, have since filed for bankruptcy.
“By not receiving, analyzing, and reporting on data related to hospitals and health systems in Massachusetts, CHIA limited its own ability to identify and address concerns regarding hospitals at risk of closing. This may have prevented policymakers from becoming aware of these issues and taking actions to prevent or soften the impacts of these issues,” the Auditor’s office wrote.
DiZoglio’s audit also criticizes CHIA for failing to publicize its CompareCare website and for failing to include some required information. The page is intended to offer comparison tools explaining the costs of certain medical procedures at various facilities.
“People must have access to the vital health care services they need,” DiZoglio said in a statement. “Hospital closures in recent years, however, have left patients worried about where they can access care and resulted in job losses for invaluable nurses and healthcare workers. Our audit of the Center for Health Information and Analysis revealed a startling lack of oversight around the financial conditions of hospitals in the Commonwealth. We urge the Administration to swiftly implement our recommendations and will be revisiting these issues in roughly six months to track progress.”
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