Medicare Compliance & Reimbursement

Hospitals:

RECRUITMENT PLAN DRAWS FEDS' IRE

Double-Check Your Physician Relocation Programs The controversial intersection between physician recruitment and Stark and anti-kickback rules appears to be at the heart of a new indictment brought against a California hospital chief executive officer. Embattled Santa Barbara, CA-based Tenet Healthcare Corp. revealed June 6 that the Department of Justice has brought criminal charges against Barry Weinbaum, CEO of Tenet subsidiary Alvarado Hospital Medical Center. "The charges apparently relate to payments under physician relocation agreements," Tenet says, involving a La Mesa, CA medical group that included Paul Ver Hoeve, a physician who was later convicted of felony Medicare fraud. Weinbaum describes the charges as "absolutely false," according to Tenet, whose leadership is defending the hospital CEO. "We believe in the personal and professional integrity of Barry Weinbaum and we expect him and the hospital to be fully vindicated from these unfortunate allegations," says Tenet President Trevor Fetter. Fetter suggests that Ver Hoeve himself is behind the allegations, noting that he cut a deal for a light sentence on his own fraud charges, agreeing in exchange to provide information to the feds. Fetter maintains that the allegations "apparently relate to claims by one disgraced physician and are no reflection on the hundreds of dedicated and ethical doctors who practice at Alvarado." Lesson Learned: Hospitals and physicians should ensure that recruitment incentives are compliant with Medicare fraud and abuse rules.
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