allegations

Tenet Healthcare will pay $725 million to resolve outstanding charges that it improperly billed Medicare and violated other federal rules governing hospitals. As part of the settlement, the hospital chain will be required to sell hospitals in Philadelphia, New Orleans and Florida. The charges, which date back to 2002, involve allegations that the company gamed the Medicare outlier payment system to win undeserved payments from the government. The settlement follows last month's news of …

The Internal Revenue Service has launched a "wide-ranging" investigation into possible wrongdoing by tax-exempt hospitals. The inquiry will focus on allegations that nonprofit hospitals refuse to provide care to uninsured patients. The IRS will also look into charges that hospitals are failing to provide adequate levels of charity care. The agency has sent questionnaires to 550 hospitals demanding compensation figures for top executives and information about their billing practices as …

There's more controversy at Kaiser Permanente, which is still reeling from the revelations that caused the closure of its kidney transplant program. Officials in California are investigating charges that Kaiser misled 18,000 members in the Coachella Valley area about coverage changes that will take place this summer, as the HMO opens offices in Palm Desert, Palm Springs and Indio. The California Department of Managed Care is looking into allegations that the HMO deceived members when it …

Under pressure from major shareholders, the United Health Group said it will adopt new corporate governance rules. The changes are designed to limit the power of individual board members and increase organizational transparency. The Minnesota-based health plan has faced mounting problems since The Wall Street Journal ran a series of critical articles challenging the company's compensation practices for top management. Attention has focused on CEO Dr. William McGuire, who the …

More details have emerged about allegations that WellPoint subsidiary Blue Cross of California has routinely canceled the policies of members with health problems. The Los Angeles Times talks with attorney William Shernoff, who began gathering evidence for a class action suit last year after learning of the existence of a unit within the company responsible for looking for cases of possible fraud. Four members of the unit testified about its activities in a trial last year. …

A 60 Minutes special on Sunday looks into allegations that hospitals overcharge the uninsured. CBS's Dan Rather returns as the host of the investigative report. The show profiles the head of Consejo de Latinos Unidos, the activist group that has accused hospitals in the Los Angeles area of unfairly raising their prices. The episode airs Sunday at 7 pm ET. This brings to mind the old line that if it wasn't for the healthcare industry, 60 Minutes would have to be called …

The running battle between pain management specialists and law enforcement has taken another twist. Baltimore police are investigating allegations that nationally-known specialist Dr. Nelson Hendler traded oxycontin and morphine for 'favors' with several patients. Hendler denies the allegations, which he says are an attempt to blackmail him. The allegations are very similar to many that have been used to go after pain management specialists. Critics deride the rise in prosecutions as an …

A lawsuit filed this week alleges that investment bankers at the Wall Street firm UBS were complicit in the HealthSouth accounting fraud. A lawsuit filed by a shareholder group accuses three employees at the firm of participating in the scheme. UBS investment bankers Bill McGahan and Ben Lorello and analyst Howard Capek are alleged to have participated in the fraud, allowing the company to mislead investors and prop up its share price. The allegations are supported by testimony by former …

Cerner's shares continued to slip as Wall Street interpreted a report published on Tuesday questioning the company's accounting practices. By the end of trading Thursday, Cerner shares were down to $83.95, falling $9.13 in very heavy trading. They are in the same range midday Friday.

How real are the questions surrounding the company? The firms behind the allegations say there are warning flags that aggressive revenue recognition tactics are in use. Questionable (well actually, …

A CNN report on possible mercy killings at New Orleans' Memorial hospital in the week following Hurricane Katrina has led the state's attorney general to announce a new investigation. The network is reporting new allegations that at the height of the crisis several doctors and a hospital administrator discussed the option. According to the CNN version, the administrator closed the conversation with the parting admonition that the doctors "should pray about it." Some experts interpret …