Lawrence General buys from Steward. David Williams is quoted in the Boston Globe

Steward Hospitals went bankrupt. The Massachusetts state government is trying to keep their facilities open without throwing them into the hands of the dominant hospital systems. Lawrence General CEO Dr. Abha Agrawal appears to be a promising partner.

David Williams is quoted in the Boston Globe (Lawrence General bought out Holy Family hospitals from Steward. Now comes the hard part.)

One reason for its financial challenges: More than 70 percent of its patients are insured by MassHealth and Medicare, state and federal programs that pay less than commercial insurance. Now it’s taking over two hospitals, operating under a single license, where about 63 percent of patients similarly rely on MassHealth and Medicare — in effect, creating a regional system of hospitals dependent on public payers.

“There’s not necessarily a precedent for that in Massachusetts,” said consultant David E. Williams, president of Health Business Group in Boston. He said the new system could succeed, however, if Lawrence General capitalizes on its larger scale and deploys state money wisely.

“If you put three hospitals together, you have good market share in a compact area,” Williams said. “The new CEO there has a vision. With the state backstopping them, they have the chance to stabilize the system.”