{"id":315782,"date":"2025-10-19T10:38:21","date_gmt":"2025-10-19T10:38:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/315782\/"},"modified":"2025-10-19T10:38:21","modified_gmt":"2025-10-19T10:38:21","slug":"hca-arrived-with-plans-to-cut-800-staff-as-soon-as-it-bought-mission-new-court-filings-in-antitrust-case-show-asheville-watchdog","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/315782\/","title":{"rendered":"HCA arrived with plans to cut 800 staff as soon as it bought Mission, new court filings in antitrust case show \u2022 Asheville Watchdog"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mission Hospital administrators were aware, before the sale, that HCA Healthcare intended to cut hundreds of staff positions once it acquired Asheville\u2019s flagship hospital, including deep reductions to the nursing staff that caused Mission\u2019s then-president to have \u201csignificant concerns,\u201d according to depositions filed recently in a long-running antitrust lawsuit against HCA.<\/p>\n

Jill Hoggard Green, a registered nurse who was Mission\u2019s president and chief operating officer from 2011 until the sale of nonprofit Mission to HCA in February 2019, testified in a deposition earlier this year that she was \u201cvery, very concerned\u201d when she learned that HCA was \u201cworking on building models related to reducing nursing.\u201d<\/p>\n

The sale to HCA led Mission to go \u201cbackwards\u201d in staffing and quality, Hoggard Green testified.<\/p>\n

In another deposition in the antitrust case, Mission\u2019s former chief strategy officer, Jonathon Yeatman, testified that HCA\u2019s initial plan was to cut the equivalent of approximately 800 full-time employees once the sale was finalized.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Mission Health had 12,061 employees at the time of the HCA takeover, according to Hoggard Green\u2019s testimony, although it was unclear how many of them were full time.<\/p>\n

The depositions are among more than 300 legal exhibits and expert testimonies that North Carolina Superior Court Special Judge Mark A. Davis cited this week as reason to deny, for now, HCA\u2019s attempt to avoid a trial in the antitrust lawsuit brought by several western North Carolina residents.<\/p>\n

Davis ruled Oct. 13 that \u201cthe interests of justice would not be furthered\u201d by ending the case now without considering not just the narrow legal arguments of the lawsuit, but also all the effects of Mission\u2019s alleged anticompetitive behavior on residents of western North Carolina.<\/p>\n

Those effects, according to new documents filed by the plaintiffs, include reduced staffing, declining quality of care, and rising healthcare costs at Asheville\u2019s Mission Hospital as part of what they contend is a deliberate effort by HCA to extract maximum profits by exploiting its near monopoly on healthcare in western North Carolina.<\/p>\n

\"\"Former Mission Chief Strategy Officer Jonathon Yeatman testified in another deposition that HCA Healthcare\u2019s initial plan was to cut the equivalent of approximately 800 full-time employees once the sale was finalized.\u00a0\/\/ Photo by Donn Jones\/Vanderbilt University Medical Center<\/p>\n

\u201cContrary to Mission\u2019s prior focus, HCA implemented several policies, including deep cuts to hospital staff, that decreased the quality of care at Mission Hospital,\u201d a prominent healthcare economist hired by the plaintiffs as an expert witness wrote in his report. \u201cHCA was able to anticompetitively reduce quality because of Mission\u2019s monopoly power in the [Mission Health System] region.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs we\u2019ve said before, we continue to believe the allegations are wholly without merit, and we will vigorously defend ourselves through the legal process,\u201d Katie Czerwinski, an HCA Healthcare spokesperson, told Asheville Watchdog.<\/p>\n

In rejecting HCA\u2019s motion for summary judgment in the case, Davis v. HCA Healthcare Inc., Judge Davis (no relation to the plaintiff) indicated that the case would go to trial in 2026. The denial of HCA\u2019s motion was \u201cwithout prejudice,\u201d meaning that the company retains the option of filing another motion for summary judgment before going to trial.<\/p>\n

Davis\u2019s ruling<\/a> also clears the way for a class-action certification request, which, if granted, and if HCA is found to have engaged in anticompetitive behavior, potentially exposes the company not just to financial damages, but also to a demand to restore medical practices to the level of care that existed before it purchased the Mission Health system in 2019 for $1.5 billion.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn a nutshell,\u201d Judge Davis wrote, \u201cthis putative class action lawsuit has been brought by a number of North Carolina residents alleging that Defendants \u2013 through their ownership and operation of Mission Hospital in Asheville \u2013 have violated various provisions of Chapter 75 of the North Carolina General Statutes by engaging in anticompetitive acts regarding the provision of inpatient and outpatient services in western North Carolina.\u201d<\/p>\n

Documents detail change in key metrics<\/strong><\/p>\n

The documents made public in the latest filings also reveal:<\/p>\n