MultiCare has been hit with a False Claims Act complaint by federal law enforcement and its home state of Washington over allegations that it is “knowingly endangering patients” by allowing a neurosurgeon who was under investigation to continue seeing patients and performing surgeries.
Announced Friday by U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington Vanessa Waldref, the complaint focuses on MultiCare’s 2019 to 2021 employment of Jason Dreyer, whose license was suspended in March 2021.
Dreyer had been hired on in after he was “permitted … to resign” by nearby Providence “amidst allegations that he was performing medically-unnecessary surgeries, harming patients and falsifying diagnoses,” the Department of Justice said.
MultiCare chose to allow Dreyer to continue seeing patients after “multiple” internal complaints, according to the government’s complaint. Additionally, the government had informed MultiCare that Dreyer was under investigation by the state department of health for practicing below medical standards of care and by federal law enforcement for fraudulent billing supported by falsified diagnoses while at Providence.
“As alleged in the complaint, MultiCare was aware of serious concerns that Dr. Dreyer was putting patients in danger,” Waldref said in a press release. “The Complaint alleges that MultiCare nonetheless made the decision to allow him to treat and operate on patients, even after it became aware of the federal investigation. This is an egregious breach of the public trust.”
The government also alleged that MutliCare’s knowing conduct led to “dozens, if not hundreds,” of materially false and fraudulent claims submissions to Medicare and other federal healthcare programs. Through these, the health system “received millions of dollars in revenue, while unknowing patients were endangered and harmed,” according to the complaint.
MultiCare, based in Tacoma, Washington, operates 12 hospitals and more than 300 other care locations across Washington, Idaho and Oregon, according to its website. The nonprofit employs more than 20,000 people and brings in about $4 billion in annual revenue.
In an emailed statement Monday, the system told Fierce Healthcare it hasn't yet been served with the complaint.
"We can assure you that MultiCare’s commitment to our mission—partnering for healing and a healthy future—and our dedication to the health of the communities we serve is as strong as ever," the system said. "The safety of our patients is and will always be our highest priority. We are aware of the Department of Justice’s allegations, and we believe them to be unfounded and without merit. We plan to vigorously defend MultiCare in this matter."
The federal attorney and state health department’s joint investigation came after a former patient of Dreyer filed a whistleblower complaint in April 2022.
The pair had already launched an investigation of Providence related to Dreyer’s time at the Catholic system. Providence agreed to a $22.7 million payment and implementation of a standard of care corporate integrity agreement to resolve its liability in April 2022, while Dreyer agreed to a $1.2 million deal resolving his individual liability under the False Claims Act a year later.
“It was that close collaboration and teamwork throughout these investigations that made the Providence and Dr. Dreyer results possible,” Waldref said. “We will continue working with our law enforcement partners to protect patient safety and to hold accountable those who put profits ahead of patient safety.”