ACTION 8 UPDATE: Jackson Hospital delays announcement on its future
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WAKA) – Officials at Montgomery’s bankrupt Jackson Hospital have delayed a scheduled announcement on whether it will close its doors.
An announcement had been scheduled for 2PM today. Late this morning, Action 8 News learned that the announcement has been delayed indefinitely.
The reason is that the hospital’s Board of Directors became aware of new developments that happened between the hospital and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama. The hospital wants the insurance giant to pay a higher insurance reimbursement rate as a way to get more money flowing to the hospital. Blue Cross has said its rate is fair and it has worked with the hospital to help its situation. Last week, a bankruptcy judge agreed with Blue Cross.
Today, Montgomery County Commission Chairman Doug Singleton, who has been involved in this ongoing process, told Action 8 News that an updated proposal from Blue Cross was given to Jackson Hospital around 9 o’clock last night. Because of the late hour, he says there was not enough time for hospital leadership to thoroughly review that proposal before a scheduled board meeting at 7:30 this morning. That’s why the hospital postponed its announcement on its future until next week.
Singleton says both Jackson Hospital and Blue Cross have made huge concessions to try to keep the hospital open. He says the two sides are very close to agreeing on a new insurance reimbursement rate.
“They are still working together,” Singleton says. “They are still negotiating, which is good news. I saw the delay in any type of decision today as good because the hospital will continue operations that they have. After the discussions that I’ve had with both parties today, again I am more optimistic than I was when I finally went to sleep last night, which was a late, late night and really early, early morning in trying to help and see what I could do to help both sides.”
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama has released this statement on the new developments:
“Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama wants Jackson Hospital to remain open and continue providing care to patients. We continue to work with state and local officials and are in discussions with Jackson Hospital to find a solution that meets the needs of our customers and the River Region community.”
Jackson Hospital has previously said that Thursday, June 25, was the deadline day for new funding to be secured or else a process to close the hospital could begin.
Earlier this week, Jackson Hospital CEO John Quinlivan sent this email to the hospital’s estimated 1,800 employees:
“We will communicate next steps regarding whether Jackson Hospital will proceed with closure planning or move forward under the hospital’s approved plan to emerge from bankruptcy. I continue praying for the latter! We appreciate your hard work, dedication, and professionalism during this uncertain time. Please continue to keep Jackson Hospital, our employees, our patients, and our community in your thoughts and prayers.”
In recent days, Action 8 News has spoken to hospital employees about the nervousness they feel as they await a decision.
“I’m hopeful that Jackson will stay open, but honestly, I don’t know at this point because this matter keeps dragging on. So that confidence and that reassurance is quickly dissipating, and so I’m telling them that I’m here as long as the doors are open,” Dr. Latoya Clark/OBGYN told us.
Dr. Himanshu Aggarwal, the Chief of Urology, said, “It’s stressful, obviously, and it’s very stressful for the staff because they ask us, ‘Oh, do we have a job tomorrow or next week?’ and you know, we just say we don’t know for sure ourselves, but we are doing a good job and we’re just trying to do our best until we know for sure that there is no job.”
As Action 8 News has reported, the hospital filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in February of 2025. That came after it missed a $60 million interest payment on bonds.
In filing for bankruptcy, Jackson Hospital said it experienced significant financial pressures in recent years due to increased labor costs, stagnant reimbursement rates, a challenging payor mix and fallout from COVID-19, among other factors. It said without Medicaid expansion in Alabama, it suffered significant financial losses due to its care for uninsured people. In 2023 alone, the hospital said gross charges related to the care of uninsured patients exceeded $45 million.
Quinlivan said so far, Jackson Hospital has only secured about $61 million of the $293 million the hospital has said it needs to fully recover. The money is coming from various government and private sources, including a limited financial pledge from the State of Alabama and $35 million from Georgia billionaire Rick Jackson, who is that state’s Republican nominee for governor.
The hospital had wanted a bankruptcy judge to force Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama to pay it a higher insurance reimbursement rate as a way to bring in more money. Last week, the judge turned down that effort.
Jackson Hospital is licensed for 344 beds, serving Montgomery and the River Region as a community not-for-profit facility. It opened in 1946 with 37 beds and five doctors.
Stay with Action 8 News for updates.
