HOSPITAL AUDITS: AAMC, AMA FILE SUIT AGAINST GOVERNMENT

      The American Association of Medical Colleges and the
 American Medical Association yesterday filed suit against the
 federal government regarding the ongoing audit of teaching
 hospitals nationwide.  The AAMC and the AMA contend that the
 Physicians at Teaching Hospitals (PATH) audits are "unfair and
 retroactive" and assume the "billing errors uncovered by the
 investigators are fraudulent."  The suit, which was filed in the
 U.S. District Court for the Central District of California,
 "seeks relief from coercive federal investigations of teaching
 physicians by the Department of Health and Human Services Office
 of the Inspector General and the Department of Justice."  The
 suit asserts that the government's actions are in violation of
 the Administrative Procedure Act, the Medicare Act and the Fifth
 Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.  It seeks declaratory and
 injunctive relief.  Other organizations joining the suit include
 the American Hospital Association, the California Healthcare
 Association, the California Medical Association, the Healthcare
 Association of New York State and the Medical Group Management
 Association (AAMC release, 10/29).