Kaiser Permanente now says it will wait until July 1 to take over three Maui County medical facilities, a decision that means further delays for the largest privatization effort in state history.

In a letter to Gov. David Ige dated Sunday, Maui Health System Hospital Administrator Ray Hahn formally notified Ige that the Kaiser takeover that had been planned for Nov. 6 “is no longer possible.” Maui Health is a subsidiary of Kaiser.

Hahn said it was essential that the state finalize agreements by last week with the United Public Workers and the Hawaii Government Employees Association to amend the public workers union contracts to finalize the transfer of the hospitals by Nov. 6. That didn’t happen, and Hahn said the next “clearly identifiable” date for the transfer to be completed is July 1.

“Due to the practical and logistical difficulties of mobilizing necessary trainers, vendors, and other resources during the winter holiday season, as well as the length of time and complexity involved in restarting and completing all necessary transition readiness work and fulfilling all closing conditions in order to achieve a smooth transfer, and the ongoing uncertainty associated with the state’s inability to resolve its issues with the unions, we are confirming the transfer date for closing and transfer of operations is July 1, 2017,” Hahn wrote.

Lawmakers last year authorized privatization of Maui Memorial Medical Center, Kula Hospital & Clinic and Lanai Community Hospital, and the state reached an agreement in January to have Kaiser operate all three. Gov. David Ige has predicted the effort will save the state $260 million in hospital subsidies over the next decade.

The privatization effort has been fought by the state’s public worker unions, which represent about 1,400 employees at the Maui hospitals. Most of the hospital staffers are expected to continue working at the hospitals for Kaiser, but they will no longer be state workers.

The United Public Workers sued the governor last year to stop the privatization of the facilities, arguing the state’s plan would harm workers who have contracts in place that run through June 30, 2017.

The state settled that lawsuit this month, but the Ige administration has been unable to finalize supplemental agreements with the public worker unions to modify the union contracts that run through June 30, according to Hahn.

“We believe that the ongoing uncertainty associated with repeatedly setting and canceling potential closing dates (for the hospital transfer), while not intended, is a disservice to the people of Maui and Lanai, as well as to all the clinical and administrative staff who have dedicated so much time and effort to this project on behalf of the state, MHS, the Hospitals, and the communities of Maui and Lanai,” Hahn wrote. “With a new date of July 1, 2017, we will all avoid the perpetual raising and dashing of expectations as interim closing dates are repeatedly set and cancelled.”