KPC Medical Finalized Bailout Plan

KPC Medical Management, the struggling owner of a chain of Southern California clinics and physician practices, has finalized a bailout deal negotiated with several health plans in July. Dr. Kali Chaudhuri, who owns the company, said he had received about $30 million in loans from the health plans, including PacifiCare Health Systems, HealthNet and Cigna Corp., as well as an increase in the amount the plans pay each month for patient care. Chaudhuri, who is months behind in paying medical specialists and many vendors, said the combination of loans and higher payments would put the company in the black. “They have all been talking about how we are about to die,” Chaudhuri said of his critics. “But we are breaking even now.” The California Medical Assn., which has closely monitored the negotiations, welcomed news of the deal, but called the bailout a “piecemeal solution” to the troubles of Southern California’s largest for-profit medical group, which treats about 500,000 patients.