Clarkson Regional Health Services offers to sell its share of Nebraska Medicine partnership to University of Nebraska for $500M, plus $300M for nearby properties. NU regents vote Jan 9. Gov Pillen supports it, but Nebraska Medicine board strongly opposes the potential state takeover.
Clarkson Regional Health Services has proposed selling its stake in the Nebraska Medicine partnership to the University of Nebraska system for $500 million, with an additional $300 million for properties surrounding the University of Nebraska Medical Center campus.
The University of Nebraska Board of Regents plans to discuss and vote on the transactions January 9.
The proposal has garnered support from Governor Jim Pillen, who stated the transaction would benefit Nebraska citizens through improved healthcare and a strengthened university system. However, the Nebraska Medicine board, a separate governing entity, has voiced strong opposition to the change. Board chair Lance Fritz criticized the move as an unnecessary attempt to convert the nonprofit public-private partnership into a state-controlled health system, warning it is not in the best interest of patients or healthcare in Nebraska.
If approved, the transaction would dissolve a partnership that has existed since 1997 for clinical services and dates back to the 1950s for the east Omaha hospital. University of Nebraska system president Dr. Jeffrey Gold emphasized that patients would see no changes in care quality, costs, or workforce support. The governance shift would align Nebraska Medicine with peer academic medical centers at universities like Iowa, Michigan, and Ohio State, which directly oversee both clinical operations and medical education.
Clarkson has pledged an additional $200 million gift to support hospital replacement efforts. The organization plans to transition from healthcare provision to operating a private foundation focused on improving health outcomes across Nebraska. Properties currently owned by Clarkson around the medical center, including doctor’s offices and Clarkson Tower, would transfer to university control.
University officials acknowledge the timing is challenging given current state budget constraints and recent campus cuts, though they maintain the funding mix of rental revenues, debt service, and public dollars would not affect other NU campus budgets.
According to reporting by the Nebraska Examiner, the transaction aims to close within six months if approved by regents.