Health Care 2023: MICHAEL J. LUTES

Lutes came aboard as Bon Secours’ Richmond market leader in October 2022, weeks after a New York Times front-page exposé focused on how the Cincinnati-based health system made as much as $100 million annually from a hospital in an economically challenged, predominantly Black East End neighborhood.

The windfall was due to the federal 340B program, which allows hospitals in poor areas to purchase medications for a large discount, while charging insurers full price and retaining the profits. Meanwhile, Richmond Community Hospital lacked an intensive care unit, a maternity ward and a reliably working magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine.

Lutes called the reports a “misleading narrative,” noting that Bon Secours spent nearly $200 million in the Richmond region last year. In January, he presided over the opening of a long-delayed $16.5 million medical office building next to Richmond Community. He also launched a three-year initiative focusing on goals such as increasing access to medical care and growing community partnerships in the East End.

Lutes previously served in leadership roles for Atrium Health in North Carolina. He serves on the Virginia Hospital and Health Care Association’s board.

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