Private Hospital Owner Prospect Medical Files for Bankruptcy (2)

Prospect Medical Holdings Inc., once an active buyer of cash-strapped hospitals, filed for bankruptcy after struggling with debt piles and soaring costs.

The company listed $1 billion to $10 billion in assets and liabilities each, along with more than 100,000 creditors, in a bankruptcy petition filed in Texas on Saturday.

Prospect Medical, which provides services in places including Southern California, Connecticut and New Jersey, has about 12,600 employees, according to a court document. A majority of these employees are physicians, nurses and other health-care professionals.

The firm is the latest hospital operator to stumble after a May bankruptcy filing ...