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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jennifer Sykes Phone: (913) 669-2872
Kansas City, MO – The Health Forward Foundation (Health Forward) and the Hospital Corporation of America (HCA) and its affiliate, HM Acquisition LLC announced today a settlement in legal proceedings over whether HCA fulfilled its capital improvement commitments to the hospitals it purchased from Health Midwest. The settlement, after legal fees, will result in roughly $160 million to the Foundation.
Coupled with a 2015 settlement over uncompensated care, the Foundation received a total of $175 million over the course of seven years of litigation.
“We are pleased to have reached this mutual agreement that will allow us to close these proceedings and continue our work to eliminate barriers and promote quality health for the uninsured and underserved,” said Wayne Powell, chairman of the Health Forward Board of Directors.
“When the Foundation’s board of directors began this lawsuit, our goal was to ensure commitments made by HCA to the communities we serve were fulfilled. We are confident we’ve achieved that goal.”
The settlement will not represent an immediate expansion of Health Forward’s grant-making resources. The new dollars will generate income over time to augment the Foundation’s current grant-making resources. In 2017, Health Forward will award over $20 million in grants in the areas of healthy eating, active living, tobacco prevention, oral, mental and safety net health care in its six-county service area.
“The settlement provides Health Forward the certainty needed to begin making financial plans,” said Health Forward President/CEO Bridget McCandless, M.D. “In the coming months, we will continue to review our region’s health needs and engage community partners to discuss how the resources of the Foundation can continue to positively impact the underserved and uninsured.”
Media inquiries related to the judgment may be directed to Paul Seyferth of Seyferth Blumenthal & Harris, LLC, at 816-756-0700.
