Attorney General Neronha applauds RI Superior Court Justice Brian P. Stern’s decision ordering Prospect Medical Holdings to pay $17M in unpaid bills

 

 

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Attorney General Peter F. Neronha issued the following statement in reaction to a Rhode Island Superior Court decision ordering Prospect Medical Holdings to pay millions in unpaid bills:

 

“I appreciate Judge Stern’s decision and careful consideration of this matter. As we argued, and the Court ordered, Prospect Medical Holdings must comply with our 2021 HCA decision, including paying $17 million within the next 10 days for outstanding invoices owed to vendors of Our Lady of Fatima Hospital and Roger Williams Medical Center, to facilitate the continuation of safe, reliable patient care at these two essential safety-net hospitals. The decision unambiguously and correctly concludes that Prospect repeatedly failed to comply with important conditions set in our 2021 decision.”

 

“As Judge Stern held, and we argued, ‘Respondent's use of the Hospitals as a private bank and treatment of accounts payable as a credit facility loan in violation of the Conditions and the HCA constitutes irreparable harm…’  The Court also confirmed the wisdom of our requirement that Prospect put $80 million in escrow in 2021, subject to our control, when it noted ‘[the Attorney General’s] trepidation in approving [Prospect’s] purchase of the Hospitals has proven to be well-placed as [Prospect] benefits from the Hospitals' government assistance while refusing to pay the Hospitals' expenses.’”

 

 

President Trump is calling April 2nd America's "liberation day." Speaking from the Oval Office, Trump said that's the day his tariffs against Canada, Mexico and China go into effect. He said Americans will see an economic boom after the tariffs.        Israel says its forces will permanently occupy parts of Gaza unless Hamas releases the remaining hostages. This comes after Israel broke a nearly two-month ceasefire with the Palestinian militant group earlier this week. Israeli airstrikes and ground operations have reportedly killed almost 600 people in Gaza.        The President appears to be open to the U.S. becoming a member of the British Commonwealth. On Truth Social this morning, President Trump shared a link to a report from the "Sun" about King Charles the Third preparing a "secret offer" involving the U.S. becoming an associate member of the international organization. In his post, Trump said, "I love King Charles. Sounds good to me!"        Congressman Gerry [[ Jerry ]] Connolly is calling for an investigation into Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. Connolly, a ranking member on the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, said it was suspicious that Lutnick recently urged Americans to buy Tesla stock. Connolly said it's "the latest example of the Trump Administration using taxpayer resources to enrich the President's inner circle."        Boeing has won a multi-billion dollar contract to build F-47 fighter jets. On Friday, President Trump announced the Next Generation Air Dominance program, also known as the F-47 fighter jet, will replace Lockheed Martin's F-22 Raptor. Boeing and Lockheed were competing for the contract to build the jets after both companies finalized designs for the aircraft last year.        There's a new idea to help bring down grocery costs. Texas Congressman Henry Cuellar wants the Trump Administration to allow the import of eggs from Mexico. He says, if you go across the border from his South Texas district, it costs about four-bucks for a carton of 30-eggs. If imports are allowed, he says it would solve the domestic supply issue, caused by the bird flu.