WV Health Care Authority Will Reconsider Proposed Purchase of Nursing Homes
Bob Coffield, who writes the Health Care Law Blog, had a post earlier this week about a potential obstacle to the proposed purchase by The Carlyle Group of several nursing homes in West Virginia that are currently owned and operated by HCR Manor Care. The transaction is part of The Carlyle Group’s proposed $6.3 billion buyout of HCR Manor Care.
The West Virginia Health Care Authority issued a certificate of need for the purchase on October 19, 2007, but District 1199 of the Service Employees International Union requested reconsideration on November 15 because of its concern that The Carlyle Group, as a private equity firm, has relatively little experience in operating nursing homes, which could negatively affect the nursing homes' residents.
The WVHCA granted the reconsideration on November 20 and has scheduled a hearing on December 14 to reconsider the certificate of need. Without having any sense one way or the other about how the hearing will turn out, the basis cited by the WVHCA as good cause for reconsideration does not sound like good news for the Carlyle Group:
District 1199 did not request reconsideration during the Certificate of Need review process. This normally would prelude [sic] the granting of reconsideration. However, due to the serious nature of the allegations, particularly the quality of care issues, the Authority finds that a hearing is warranted and that a full discussion of the issues is in the public's best interest.
