Read the complaint filed 9/18/07 by the DOJ against Tenet’s former General Counsel, Christi R. Sulzbach

Press Room

TSC Comments on Global Settlement

June 29, 2006

“Victims Pay, Scoundrels Play”

Earlier today, the Justice Department announced a $900 million global settlement with Tenet Healthcare “to resolve various types of civil allegations involving Tenet’s billings to Medicare and other federal health care programs,” particularly the long-running Medicare outlier reimbursements scandal.

The deal is the tenth settlement between Tenet and the Department of Justice in the last four years. But are these settlements doing anything to prevent abuse of patients and improper financial practices? We think not. By allowing Tenet to repeatedly get away with what amounts to slaps on the wrist, the government actually encourages bad practices by rogue health care providers.

The Tenet Shareholder Committee deplores the absence of accountability in the new settlement. Tenet Healthcare’s press release today notes that the settlement “will conclude all federal investigations by the Department of Justice...with no finding that Tenet had engaged in any illegal behavior.” The two longest-serving members of Tenet’s board of directors, who served while the scandals occurred, sit in review of the company’s compliance program.

In other words, it’s business as usual for Tenet. The fox is still guarding the chicken coop.

Once again, taxpayers and shareholders will ultimately pay the bill for Tenet’s misdeeds. The government will recover about half of what it has claimed were the excessive outlier payments. And in a conference call today, Tenet suggested it will be able to deduct the settlement payments from future tax bills.

Once again, the victims pay and the scoundrels play.