Government sues former hospital CEO

NAPLES — The federal government says it has joined a civil lawsuit alleging former Health Management Associates CEO Gary Newsome pressured physicians and administrators to raise inpatient hospital admissions rates regardless of medical necessity.

In a statement issued late Monday, the U.S. Department of Justice says it will join a total of eight civil lawsuits against Naples-based hospital operator HMA alleging it billed federal health care programs for medically unnecessary inpatient admissions and rewarded physicians in exchange for patient referrals.

“The Department of Justice is committed to ensuring that health care providers who attempt to misuse federal health care programs for their own profit are held accountable,” says Stuart Delery, assistant attorney general in the civil division. “Schemes such as this one can contribute significantly to the rising cost of delivering health care and create needless patient risk.”

The shareholders of HMA, which operates 71 hospitals in 15 states, recently voted to approve the sale of the company to rival Community Health Systems of Tennessee for $7.6 billion. Combined, the two companies will operate 206 hospitals with more than 31,000 beds when the deal closes later this month.

Neither Community Health nor HMA responded to the new legal developments. Newsome retired in July and leads the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints mission in Uruguay.