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That was the message that local officials hoped to impart as the city and county sought to escalate pressure on the area’s largest hospital.
City of Las Cruces and Doña Ana County officials announced they had notified Memorial Medical Center of a potential breach of its public land lease during a news conference on Aug. 30.
But officials also used the news conference to acknowledge that local government had not adequately handled its responsibility to oversee MMC, despite dozens of community members sounding the alarm for years that the hospital may not be living up to its legal obligations.
“While we are here to publicly ask MMC to fulfill their obligation to our community, this is also about the city of Las Cruces taking responsibility for our role in this agreement and about recommitting to working side-by-side with our county colleagues to ensure proper and quality access to healthcare,” said Las Cruces City Councilor Johana Bencomo.
Memorial Medical Center, a private equity for-profit hospital, has been under sustained scrutiny following the publication of an NBC News investigation this summer.
NBC News documented dozens of patients and former patients who’d been denied care, sometimes due to a lack of insurance or ability to pay, an alleged violation of MMC’s 40-year agreement with Las Cruces and Doña Ana County.
MMC’s former CEO, John Harris, spoke to the county commission and city council after the story was published. He denied many of the questions raised by the coverage, and said the story was inaccurate or outright false in its assertions. Harris retired from MMC a few weeks later.
“These concerns were raised by some of the most vulnerable populations in our community. We want you to know that we see you, we hear you and we take you seriously,” City Manager Ikani Taumoepeau said at the news conference.
The hospital sits on public land that its operator, Lifepoint Health, leases from the city and county. Lifepoint is obliged by the lease agreement to provide care to all patients regardless of insurance or ability to pay.
However, city officials stopped short of accusing MMC of violating those provisions outright. Instead, City Attorney Brad Douglas said the city and county were demanding the release of documents that might show MMC had knowingly denied care to patients who would have otherwise been entitled to it. The lease stipulates that MMC is required to provide that documentation.
The city and county outlined their demands in a news release and breach notice sent to MMC. Those demands are:
When asked how the city and county would respond if MMC disputed the allegations, Douglas said the government was focused on finding common ground with MMC but was willing to pursue more legal action if necessary.
“We're nowhere close to the finish line, but it is an important step forward,” Douglas said.
In a statement, the hospital responded: "Memorial Medical Center received the notice of breach from the City of Las Cruces late yesterday. We believe we are compliant and have not breached the terms of the lease and asset purchase agreements and are responding in accordance with the obligations outlined in both. Our hospital is committed to a positive partnership with the City of Las Cruces and Doña Ana County and working together to build a healthier community, today and into the future. We will continue collaborating with the City and County to identify and resolve any areas of concern as quickly as possible."
Yolanda Diaz, founder of CARE Las Cruces, a nonprofit that receives money from the city to help patients pay for care, has been calling for an investigation into MMC for years. She came to the news conference with several other women who raised concerns about MMC.
“Today is a necessary step,” Diaz said. “It's a legal step. It's in the lease that they had to get them notice, so they've complied with that, and that's a positive thing.”
Why now?
The speakers addressed the question of “why now” in their opening remarks, a question reporters asked three times.
Bencomo said that the government had taken a “disempowered approach” to MMC.
“Truthfully, at one point it used to feel like, ‘what could city council really do about our very broken for-profit healthcare system?’ It all felt too big, and I thought that's what this conversation was about. But by disempowering our governing body, we disempowered our community, and we disempowered patients’ voices,” Bencomo said.
For Diaz, it comes down to new leadership in the county and city.
“We have a new city manager, we had a new interim county manager, we have a new attorney. And I believe that is a very positive move, because we know that the previous leadership all chose to not take the step forward to this,” Diaz said.
Manuel Sanchez, a Doña Ana County commissioner, pointed out that smaller steps have been taken since 2019, when MMC sought to revise its lease. But Sanchez also acknowledged that the NBC News article, and the slew of concerned residents who came forward since its publication, broke the dam.
Sanchez also said Harris and MMC’s lack of answers in the article’s immediate aftermath forced the county and city’s hand.
“I believe this action by the city of Las Cruces, and us (the county) in partnership with them, will help get us some of these answers so that we have a better understanding of what's going on with Memorial Medical Center,” Sanchez said.
