Attorney General's News Release

February 2, 2009

Attorney General Koster approves sale of I-70 Medical Center; commitment to charity care will continue

Jefferson City, Mo. — After conducting a review that included a public hearing on Aug. 21, 2009, Attorney General Chris Koster's office today approved the proposed sale of the non-profit I-70 Medical Center in Sweet Springs to the for-profit Hospital Management Consulting (HMC). Missouri law required an evaluation of the proposed sale by the Attorney General before the deal could be concluded.

Under the Asset Purchase Agreement approved by the board of the hospital last month, HMC is acquiring all the hospital's assets, including the building, real estate, equipment and all receivables. HMC also will assume all debts of the hospital, make a payment of $250,000 for a scholarship fund, and promise to build an 8,000-square foot medical office building in Sweet Springs and to open clinics in Concordia and Alma.

In addition to the terms in the original deal between HMC and the hospital's non-profit owner, a letter of agreement between the Attorney General’s Office and HMC requires:

• A promise that HMC will continue to use the facility only as a community hospital. If HMC decides not to operate the hospital, or decides to sell the facility for any other purpose, the community may buy it back at fair market price determined on the basis of the property’s use as a hospital;
• A 10-year commitment to participate in the Medicaid and Medicare programs;
• A charity care and community benefit commitment requiring HMC to provide these at the same levels as did the seller – $360,000 per year, with an adjustment for inflation – for so long as it owns the hospital;
• Up to an additional $150,000 in scholarship money if HMC employs anyone trained with scholarships or loans from the scholarship fund or if HMC re-sells the hospital for a short-term profit; and
• A provision for the Attorney General to enforce HMC’s commitments to build the medical office building in Sweet Springs and the clinics in Concordia and Alma.

The $250,000 scholarship fund will be managed by the Eastland Community Foundation, an affiliate of the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation, pursuant to an agreement approved by Koster's office.

The Attorney General acts as steward for non-profit assets in the state. Former Attorney General Nixon, who initiated the review, sought to ensure that any sale would be as a result of a fair process, that a fair price was received for the assets, and that proceeds from the sale would be used appropriately and to further the hospital's non-profit mission.

"This has been an extraordinarily open review process," Koster said. "It included a public hearing in Sweet Springs, and my office also has provided interested citizens with hundreds of pages of documents relating to the sale and our review."

At the hearing, many people expressed that their main concern was for Sweet Springs to continue to have its own hospital, and that this sale not result in a sudden conversion of the hospital to some other use. With the additions to the deal announced today, Koster says that goal has been accomplished.