Morton Plant PHO loss: $5.6 M.(Morton Plant Mease Physician Hospital Organization)

Morton Plant Mease Physician Hospital Organization lost $5.6 million last year and is suffering an exodus of key physician members, according to documents obtained by the Business Journal.

The three-year-old, for-profit corporation is owned by hundreds of doctor-members and Morton Plant Mease Health Care.

Officials at Morton Plant Mease and the PHO could not be reached for comment.

But documents show that the PHO blames 70 percent of the loss (almost $4 million) on a single contract with Prudential Health Care Plan Inc.

The PHO plans to terminate that deal as of May 4. Among other effects, the termination means thousands of north Pinellas …