The nonprofit Summa Health is the largest care provider and employer in Greater Akron. In January 2024, HATCo, owned by California-based firm General Catalyst (GC), announced its intent to acquire and privatize Summa.
A private purchase of a public health system of this kind is without precedent.
GC attempted to justify itself by claiming that it would transform care through “new revenue streams, resources, innovations, and technologies." Summa’s executives — those willing to sell out the nonprofit — claimed the deal would save the indebted hospital, which owes $800 million.
The attempt to privatize Akron’s main health service was a decision made exclusively by wealthy elites, imposed on Akron without democratic input. The public, for its part, understands well that General Catalyst has no interest in Akron besides profiting at its expense.
The local elite have responded to these concerns by telling the public it has no choice but to accept the deal, expecting most to resign themselves to the sale’s supposed inevitability . But this is not a done deal. There is still time to fight it. Do not let them fool you into believing you are powerless.
Public skepticism regarding the acquisition has coalesced into a campaign of organized opposition: the Summa Is Not For Sale Coalition . Its goals are to raise awareness of the proposed ravaging of Summa and galvanize the public to fight for a health care system that is democratic, worker-managed, and guarantees quality and dignified care for all.
More: Akron residents tell City Council deal to sell Summa Health sounds too good to be true
The coalition opposes the private acquisition of Summa because:
- Privatization hurts patients. Private firms must turn a profit — otherwise, they will be crushed by their competition. Profit in health care means staff reductions, intensive working hours, fewer services, premature discharges, higher patient costs and catering to a wealthier clientele. The research on hospital privatizations reveals that patients, staff and community lose while corporate owners gain at their expense. A 2022 study evaluated over 250 hospitals that transitioned to a private model, and nearly every single one led to downsized capacity and patient care, with Medicaid patients in particular suffering precipitous declines in access and care.
- Privatization hurts health care workers . As a nonprofit, Summa employees have a pathway to student loan forgiveness through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program . Many health care workers depend on this loan forgiveness, as they were compelled to borrow hundreds of thousands of dollars in loans to qualify for their positions. Should Summa be acquired by GC and become a for-profit business, employees would no longer be eligible for the PSLF program. Any future raise employees may receive would be offset by their worsening loan debt.
- Privatization hurts working-class people. The people with the most to lose by the decision to privatize Summa are not those who made the decision. The workers of Summa and the people of Greater Akron should be the ones to determine the conditions of their health care and their work, not the profiteers at the California-based General Catalyst.
Make no mistake: The coalition is not content with the Summa Health status quo. Changes are needed to make it more financially sustainable, transparent and affordable.
Summa’s management should be democratically determined by the staff and care providers in conjunction with the Greater Akron public, not an out-of-state corporation with profit as its overriding priority.
The Summa Is Not For Sale coalition will host a town hall at 6 p.m. Oct. 16 at the HÜG Place, 133 Merriman Road, Akron. We invite the public to learn more about the pending acquisition and how to fight it.
This town hall encourages the active participation of the public to work toward a health care system that is managed for the benefit of all. We hope you will join.
Matthew Charlebois is an Akron-based writer, researcher and organizer with the Party for Socialism and Liberation. He can be reached at matthewcharlebois264@gmail.com .
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Opinion: Summa Health sale is not a done deal. There is still time to fight it
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