November 6, 2025
Scrubs, spies, and spicy comments
The secret campaign to silence critics of a hospital real estate empire
Community cries “deathcare” as execs go scorched earth
TLDR: Documents say MPT and Steward hired PR, lawyers, and private spies to track critics, while senators push the Stop Medical Profiteering and Theft Act. Commenters roast “deathcare” greed, praise the numbers guy, and liken the harassment to eBay’s pig-mask fiasco—warning that patient care shouldn’t be a landlord game.
A hospital “landlord” called Medical Properties Trust (MPT) is accused of hiring PR hit squads, lawyers, and private spies to muzzle critics—and the internet is not impressed. Documents shared with Mother Jones and OCCRP suggest MPT and its major tenant Steward Health Care backed anonymous accounts, surveillance, and online baiting to shut down journalists, analysts, and short sellers. The backdrop: Wall Street Journal reporting said Steward owed nearly $1 billion to vendors, and now three senators have floated the Stop Medical Profiteering and Theft (MPT) Act. Translation: healthcare drama with receipts.
The comments lit up like an ER on a Friday night. One fan hailed the analyst’s play-by-play as “a master class” while bragging he kept posting spreadsheets even as his newborn arrived. Another scorched the whole business model, calling private equity “for‑profit deathcare,” comparing hospital buyouts to debt-fueled leveraged buyouts (LBOs) that strip assets and shutter services. And the vibe check? People say MPT’s meltdown mirrors the eBay pig mask harassment saga—cartoonish intimidation with real-world stakes. Jokes abound: “Health landlord? What could go wrong,” “spreadsheet Sherlocks,” and pig mask emojis. Few defenders showed up; the only tiff was whether short sellers hyped the chaos or simply exposed it. Either way, the community’s verdict is loud: don’t mess with patient care—and don’t mess with the comments.
Key Points
- •Internal documents show MPT organized a large crisis campaign involving PR, legal, and private intelligence firms to counter criticism.
- •Wall Street Journal investigations raised concerns about Steward Health Care’s financial struggles and MPT’s undisclosed transactions.
- •Steward hospitals reportedly owed nearly $1 billion to vendors; Mother Jones documented extensive patient harm and care problems.
- •Anonymous social media and online baiting were used to discredit and intimidate journalists, analysts, and short sellers.
- •A trio of Democratic US senators proposed the “Stop Medical Profiteering and Theft (MPT) Act” to limit MPT’s business practices.