Barton entered into contract renewal negotiations with Tahoe Women’s Care and Emerald Bay Center for Women’s Health, both in South Lake Tahoe, in January, but the groups could not come to an agreement, according to the report.
Barton Health cannot legally employ physicians as a California non-profit under the Corporate Practice of Medicine Act, so it contracts with physician groups, according to the report.
Clint Purvance, MD, Barton Health’s CMO, said that Barton was offering competitive, fair market value compensation, but the negotiations fell through. The current contracts expire in three months.
Kris Kobalter, MD, an OB/GYN at Tahoe Women’s Care, said that Barton told the physician group that the practice was losing too much money, and they would need to downsize the number of physicians and decrease costs, according to the report.
“None of us are pleased with the outcome,” Dr. Kobalter said in the report. “I believe the contract negotiations were disingenuous on the part of the hospital. I don’t think there’s a future in medicine here.”
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