In an email to employees Wednesday, Jackson CEO John Quinlivan said the hospital’s board “determined that we will announce the hospital’s closure on June 25 unless [Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama] agrees before that date to reimburse us at a fair rate comparable to what it pays Baptist South.” The financially struggling hospital filed for bankruptcy earlier this year and continues to operate through a $25 million debtor-in-possession loan from Jackson Investment Group, the parent company of Georgia-based Jackson Healthcare. Kay Ivey and a state bonding board pledged to borrow up to $40 million to help save the hospital, but only after it emerges from bankruptcy. Jackson’s closure would be a major blow to the Capital City, as it is the only hospital near the downtown area and the Capitol Complex. Jackson officials and investors have repeatedly blamed the hospita…

Our members must be our priority, as we are committed to managing healthcare costs and maintaining access to high-quality care.” The dispute between Jackson Hospital and Blue Cross has crossed over from the legal world into the political one. Last year, a Delaware-incorporated anonymous group called Alabama Patients First started airing political-style television ads attacking Blue Cross, to which the insurer responded with ads of its own. Rick Jackson, founder of Jackson Healthcare, is currently running for governor of Georgia. Axios reported last month that he has spent $50 million of his own money on the race. Jackson, whose name is a coincidence, has denied involvement in the Blue Cross attack ads. But reporting from the Atlanta Journal Constitution showed that the same lawyer who incorporated Alabama Patients First also incorporated Georgians for Integrity, a sim…