Two physicians have accused HCA Healthcare and TeamHealth of defrauding government programs by overcharging for care, according to a June 28 report from Medscape.
The lawsuit was originally filed in June 2022, but in April documents surrounding the case were unsealed when the federal government declined to intervene in the case.
Physicians Scott Ramming, MD, and Allen Lalor, MD, were employees of the Asheville, N.C.-based Mission Hospital System, which was acquired by HCA in 2019. In 2020, TeamHealth contracted with HCA to provide physician staffing at Mission Hospital.
The complaint alleges that at the time, the hospital began overbilling Medicare and Medicaid for unnecessary and wasteful services and supplies, including repeat lab tests and redundant scans.
Dr. Ramming and Dr. Lalor allege that the hospital managers encouraged employees to order lab tests and scans based on generic metrics rather than clinical judgment.
The suit also alleges that TeamHealth requires its physicians to see as many patients per shift as possible in order to increase revenue for the hospital, regardless of negative effects on patients.
The complaint includes examples of instances where lab tests were repeated at Mission after already occurring at other facilities.
If the physicians choose to continue their suit without government involvement, the Justice Department could still get involved at a later date.