kickback

According to some advocacy groups, it looks like pharma companies aren't coming up with free prescription drugs for the needy Medicare recipients, despite a pointed congressional request eight months ago. Several pharma companies had called off their drug assistance programs for Medicare patients once Part D became effective last year. The drug makers said that they were afraid they'd be accused of violating anti-kickback rules if they kept the programs open, though CMS has since said …

In May of 2006, Tenet Healthcare agreed to a $21 million dollar agreement with federal officials to settle charges that it used kickback payments to doctors to encourage them to refer patients. As part of the agreement, Tenet unloaded the troubled hospital to two physicians, Drs. Pejman and Pedram Salimpour, who paid $36.5 million for the facility. Since the physicians have acquired Alvarado, the San Diego Tribune reports, the hospital workers' morale has lifted as they no longer …

Hospital giant Tenet has agreed to five years of corporate integrity monitoring as part of its settlement with the Department of Health and Human Services. In June, the company was ordered to pay $725 million to resolve outstanding charges that it improperly billed Medicare and violated other federal rules governing hospitals. The five-year agreement establishes annual training requirements and compliance reviews by independent organizations in certain specific areas. The company must …

More Tenet troubles: Mina Nazaryan, a former exec at Tenet's Alvarado Medical Center who was charged with conspiracy last year, was sentenced to three years' probation and received a $27,000 fine. The sentence is her reward for the part she played in a scheme to give doctors kickbacks in the form of relocation bonuses. Nazaryan could have faced up to 27 months but her sentence was …

A day after Tenet Healthcare announced a settlement in its federal kickback case, a spokesman for the company said it is already looking for potential buyers for Alvarado Medical Center in San Diego. Wall Street was ready to welcome Tenet back into the fold with the company's shares among the hottest on the market yesterday, rising more than 8 percent, to $8.03, before cooling today.

Critics, however, are not quite as enthusiastic about the company's prospects. The Street …

Tenet Healthcare said that it has reached an agreement with federal officials to settle charges that it used kickback payments to doctors to encourage them to refer patients. The hospital chain will pay a fine of $21 million. The Dallas-based provider has also agreed to either sell or shut down Alvarado Medical Center. Federal prosecutors had charged that the hospital improperly used payments to physician groups as an incentive to encourage them to refer patients. Tenet shares rallied up …

A number of major issues still face Tenet, including criminal prosecution threats and a federal anti-kickback case. For one thing, an inquiry into possible criminal wrongdoing at Memorial Medical Center in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina is still a possibility. Next week, San Diego prosecutors are expected to announce if there will be a new trial in the federal anti-kickback case against Tenet-owned Alvarado Medical Center. In a separate review, Tenet also faces the …

The Department of Health and Human Services said it wants to bar Tenet's Alvarado Medical Center in San Diego from participating in federal programs over charges that the hospital broke anti-kickback laws by paying doctors large relocation bonuses. The step would prevent the provider from participating in Medicare and Medicaid, effectively eliminating a major revenue stream. Such threats are often considered largely symbolic, however. HHS rarely imposes the punishment, as doing so is …

A judge in San Diego declared a mistrial in the federal kickback trial of Alvarado Medical Center after 11 months, marking the second time the case has been thrown out. Prosecutors had argued that the Tenet-owned hospital and former CEO Barry Weinbaum violated federal law by paying lucrative relocation bonuses to doctors in exchange for referrals. The case is seen as a potential turning point for the Dallas-based Tenet, which has endured a three year long slide after federal authorities …

The jury in the federal racketeering trial of Tenet's Alvarado Medical Center in San Diego appears to be sharply divided and may be on the way to a deadlock. Last week, a juror wrote to Judge M. James Lorenz to complain about "personal biases" on the part of several other jury members. The jury has been in deliberations for 35 days. The first trial in the case last year ended in a mistrial. Federal prosecutors allege that the hospital violated anti-kickback laws when it offered referral …