Tenet Faces Investigation by Federal Prosecutors in Missouri
Officials for Tenet Healthcare on Friday announced the U.S. attorney's office in St. Louis has asked for information related to physician-relocation agreements in Missouri -- the "latest sign that the government is conducting a broad review of the hospital chain's doctor-recruitment policies," the Wall Street Journal reports. The request seeks documents related to Twin Rivers Regional Medical Center, which Tenet sold last year, and four other hospitals, as well as information from the new owner of Twin Rivers about certain admissions and medical procedures related to cardiac patients between 2000 and 2003. According to the Journal, physician-relocation agreements are "an established recruiting practice used by hospitals." However, federal prosecutors in several areas nationwide have launched investigations into physician-relocation agreements at Tenet hospitals (Rundle, Wall Street Journal, 8/9).
Some federal prosecutors maintain that some Tenet hospitals have offered physician-relocation agreements in exchange for patient referrals. Under anti-kickback laws for federal health care programs, hospitals cannot directly pay physicians for such referrals. In July 2003, a federal grand jury issued a 17-count criminal indictment of San Diego-based Alvarado Hospital Medical Center; CEO Barry Weinbaum; and owner Tenet HealthSystem Hospitals, a Tenet subsidiary, over allegations that Alvarado paid more than $10 million for more than 100 physician-relocation agreements between 1992 and 2000 (California Healthline, 6/11).
According to the Journal, the "Missouri probe opens a new front in the physician relocation investigations" at a time when Tenet is in "active discussions with the Department of Justice about a global settlement of various investigations involving past and current Tenet business practices." Tenet officials on Friday said that the company "continues to be engaged in discussions with federal agencies regarding a resolution of physician relocation and other issues." According to legal experts, the Missouri investigation likely will not "significantly affect the government's continuing settlement talks with Tenet," the Journal reports (Wall Street Journal, 8/9).
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