Embattled Steward Health Care has canceled auctions for its hospitals in Ohio and Pennsylvania after it did not receive qualified bids for those facilities, according to a court filing.
The health system said in a document filed Sunday with a bankruptcy court in Texas that it is working to determine alternatives for those facilities, and expects to make an announcement at a later date. It had initially set a bid deadline for June 24 for these assets, which was later pushed back to July 15.
Steward filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy in the Southern District of Texas in May.
The system did reveal that it found potential buyers for one facility in Arkansas and another in Louisiana. Pafford Health Systems bid on the Arkansas-based Wadley Regional Medical Center for $200,000, while AHS South LLC is seeking to buy Lousiana hospital Glenwood Regional Medical Center for $500,000.
The buyers would have to take on the facilities' liabilities, but would not be held to a rental agreement with Medical Properties Trust, Steward Health Care's landlord.
The bid deadlines have been pushed back as high-profile potential sales have fallen through. Optum, for instance, had signed on to buy Steward's physician group before walking away from the deal amid mounting criticism from lawmakers and others.
A hearing over these potential sales will be held on July 31, according to the court filing.
Meanwhile, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) committee will hold a bipartisan vote on Thursday to determine whether to subpoena Steward CEO Ralph de la Torre to compel him to speak at a hearing on the health system's struggles in September.
The HELP Committee previously invited de la Torre to testify but he declined, according to a statement from Chair Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Ranking Member Bill Cassidy, R-La.