Tuesday's bankruptcy court hearing on the sale of as many as five Steward Health Care hospitals in Massachusetts has been postponed until Friday.

In an overnight court filing, the company announced that the hearing planned for 2 p.m. Tuesday was being "adjourned" until 11 a.m. Friday, Aug. 16. The sales hearing is a significant step in the bankrupt company's efforts to sell off its physician network, Stewardship Health, as well as hospitals in Massachusetts, Arkansas and Louisiana. The filing did not provide a reason for the postponement.

Steward has already received court approval to close Carney Hospital in Dorchester and Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer, but company officials have told the court that they "received binding bids from local operators to acquire six (6) of their Massachusetts hospitals which includes Saint Elizabeth’s Medical Center, Saint Anne’s Hospital, Good Samaritan Medical Center, Holy Family Hospital – Haverhill, Holy Family Hospital – Methuen, and Morton Hospital."

Massachusetts agreed, and U.S. Bankruptcy Court approved, to a deal under which it plans to provide $30 million in advance Medicaid payments to keep open through August the Steward hospitals that are expected to be sold. The state was to pay roughly $11 million of that sum on or around Friday.

But the second round of payments, $19 million in all, could be affected by the postponement of Tuesday's hearing. That payment, under the agreement, is conditioned upon the "execution of agreements to acquire the hospital operations and land of" the Massachusetts hospitals by Aug. 9 and the "issuance of one or more orders by the Bankruptcy Court on or before August 15, 2024, approving the sale of" those hospitals.

An Executive Office of Health and Human Services spokeswoman did not immediately respond Monday morning to questions about how the postponement of Tuesday's hearing to Aug. 16 affects the payment agreement and its Aug. 15 condition. A Steward spokeswoman said the company did not have a statement to provide in response to News Service questions.

Steward's overnight court filing also moved the sales hearing for hospitals in Arizona and Florida from Aug. 22 to Sept. 10, and pushed off a sales hearing related to hospitals in Ohio, Pennsylvania and one in Texas until "a date to be determined."