Six residents from Buncombe, Haywood and Burke counties filed a class-action, antitrust suit against HCA Healthcare and Mission Health last week, citing the defendants’ “improper conduct has harmed consumers through higher health insurance premiums, copays, deductibles and coinsurance payments. Consumers have also lost access to preferred physicians and healthcare providers and experienced worsening facility conditions and service.”
The suit claims since 1995 Mission, and continuing with its sale to HCA in 2019, has operated as a monopoly which resulted in reduced quality and higher prices. The 87-page lawsuit dates the creation of the monopoly to when Mission merged with its competitor St. Joseph’s Hospital, also located in Asheville at the time.
Although the lawsuit focuses on HCA/Mission in Buncombe and Madison counties, it notes that HCA holds a large market share for in-patient general acute care in seven Western North Carolina counties. In Macon County, HCA’s market share is 74.7%, according to the document.
Sen. Kevin Corbin (R-District 50) joined Sen. Julie Mayfield (D-District 49/Buncombe) and Rep. Brian Turner (D-District 116/Buncombe), in making the following statement: “While, we are still reviewing the complaint, we applaud these citizens for taking action. The summary reflects what Western North Carolina individuals, doctors and businesses have reported experiencing since HCA purchased Mission Health: higher costs, downgraded quality of care, and reduced access to health care, especially in rural areas.”
The statement goes on to say that the existing model “leaves no realistic alternatives for many types of care in the region. HCA promised to maintain quality of care in the Mission Health purchase agreement, and it is time for them to fulfill that promise by competing fairly and focusing on patients.”
In a phone interview on Aug. 13, Corbin said he did not wish HCA harm because they do provide 70% of the healthcare in his district, and the lawsuit may not be the solution to all the problems.
“What the lawsuit alleges are the exact things I have heard from my constituents,” he said. “I think the lawsuit is good because it points out these things, and I hope some good can come of it.”
He acknowledges there is only so much that local leaders and residents can do because HCA is a private business. “I hope HCA will step up and see there are some things they need to do.”
Franklin Mayor Bob Scott, who has been outspoken about the sale of Angel Medical Center to HCA, said he was glad see the lawsuit filed. “I have been extremely concerned about the emails, letters, phone calls and posts about how people have found our hospital.” Scott added Sen. Mayfield and Rep. Turner have been helpful, however, he is disappointed that he has not received more support from local politicians.
Corbin said he has been very involved at the state and local level in working to improve health care options. He has a meeting scheduled this week with the new Angel Medical Center CEO to discuss the lack of labor and delivery services in Franklin as well as other issues. Mission removed the labor and delivery unit from Angel Medical Center in July 2017.
Highlands Mayor Patrick Taylor is not as concerned about the loss of services, which he said started declining at the Highlands-Cashiers Hospital before the sale to HCA. Taylor said hospital CEO Tom Neal has announced plans to bring back some of the lost services such as several out-patient surgical procedures. “The return of these lost services will be a step forward,” Taylor said.
However, the Highlands mayor is concerned with the problems HCA/Mission is encountering in Asheville. “All the smaller hospital units send patients to Asheville for treatment. If there are billing problems, labor issues, loss of doctors and basic procedural problems, that is a problem for the entire Mission Healthcare System,” he said. “I applaud State Sen. Corbin, Sen. Mayfield and Rep. Turner for expressing their concerns also. Hopefully, these problems can be addressed and corrected so Western Carolina can move forward toward excellent healthcare.”
In a statement from Mission Health/HCA North Carolina Division, spokesperson Nancy Lindell said, “Once we have been served with the lawsuit, we will respond appropriately through the legal process. We are committed to caring for Western North Carolina as demonstrated through more than $330 million in Charity Care and uninsured discounts we provided in 2020, expansion of hospital services including the opening of the North Tower, a new Pediatric ER, and securing land for a new 120-bed behavioral health hospital. Further, we have invested in our colleagues with onboarding nearly 1,200 new members this year and providing more than $3 million in student loan and tuition reimbursement in 2020. Mission Health is committed to the health and well-being of every person who comes to us for care, and we are proud of our dedicated hospital teams that are facing the many challenges of this pandemic and the exceptional care they have provided to our patients.”