In 2018, the North Carolina Attorney General’s Office waded into the contentious sale of the nonprofit Mission Hospital to healthcare giant HCA. The office had concerns about the sale. Eager to get the deal done, HCA made concessions.
The Nashville-based company agreed to keep rural satellite hospitals open for 10 years, not just five; across the system services and facilities would be maintained. HCA also agreed to the appointment of an independent monitor to make sure that they were following the agreement – and the agreement empowered the attorney general to sue them if they weren’t.
In December 2023, the attorney general’s office did just that. Brought by then Attorney General Josh Stein, now governor, and continued under Attorney General Jeff Jackson, it accuses HCA and Mission Hospital of violating the asset purchase agreement by effectively discontinuing emergency and oncology services at the hospital in 2023…