Health Management Associates (Florida company)

Health Management Associates (NYSE: HMA) was a for-profit corporation which operates hospitals and other health care facilities in the southern United States. It is headquartered at 5811 Pelican Bay Blvd. in North Naples, Florida.[1] Health Management Associates' current interim CEO is John M. Starcher, Jr.[2] Serving on the board of directors are William Schoen, Pascal Goldschmidt, Donald Kiernan, William Steere, Vicki O'Meara, Robert Knox, Kent Dauten and Randolph W. Westerfield.

Health Management Associates (HMA) is an organization that provides people, processes, capital, and subject matter expertise to hospitals and physician practices per their individual needs or governing requirements (1). Additional functions that HMA provides to hospitals and provider groups are to invest capital for renewal of hospital facilities, recruiting of physicians to expand community resources or hospital services, and promote the use standardized best practices throughout HMA facilities (1).

HMA provides its services to 71 hospitals for an approximate 11,000 licensed beds throughout 15 states (1). 42,000 individuals in clinical and support roles enables HMA the ability to provide 3.5 million patient interactions yearly throughout their organization (1).

In 2010, they purchased the former Wuesthoff Healthcare hospitals, headquartered in Rockledge, Florida for $145 million.[3]

Community Health Systems entered into an agreement with HMA in 2013 to purchase HMA for about $3.6 billion in cash and stock.[4] The merger is expected to go through and will make Community Health Systems the largest for-profit hospital operator (ranked by the number of hospitals) in the United States.[5]

List of hospitals

2012 Allegations of Medicare Fraud

In 2012, the CBS show, "60 Minutes," interviewed over 100 former employees of HMA. These former employees criticized HMA of implementing unethical for-profit measures. They alleged that HMA has established hospital admission goals of 20% or higher that their physicians must adhere to, or face termination. The former employees said that these goals had resulted in an admission of more than 50% of patients aged 65 or over, regardless of medical need. Paul Meyers, HMA's former director of compliance and a 30-year FBI veteran, accused the chain of Medicare fraud. The hospital chain is being investigated by the US Justice Department, Kroft added, which has subpoenaed records pertaining to emergency-room management and a software program used by ER doctors.[8][9]

2014 Allegations of attempt to inflate bills

In 2014, The New York Times reported that the Justice Department had joined eight separate whistle-blower lawsuits against HMA in six states. The lawsuits alleged a wide-ranging strategy that attempted to inflate HMA's payments from Medicare and Medicaid by increasing hospital admissions. The Justice Department accused HMA of admitting patients to hospitals regardless of whether they needed hospital care and pressuring doctors to admit patients to the hospital. Prime enforcer of pressuring doctors to wrongfully admit, Page Vaughan is currently working at a small rural hospital in Chester, South Carolina.[10]

References

  1. ↑ Becker's Healthcare http://www.beckershospitalreview.com/finance/chs-loses-112m-during-initial-hma-integration.html
  2. ↑ "Fortune 500 2010: Top 1000 American Companies". CNN.
  3. ↑ Jenks, Susan (13 October 2010). "Medical antitrust lawsuit lives on". Melbourne, Florida: Florida Today. pp. 1A.
  4. ↑ De La Merced, Michael J. (30 July 2013). "Community Health Agrees to Buy H.M.A. for $3.6 Billion". New York, NY: New York Times.
  5. ↑ DuBois, Shelley (24 January 2014). "Community Health Systems' HMA purchase clears hurdle". The Tennessean.
  6. ↑ http://health.usnews.com/best-hospitals/area/ar/sparks-regional-medical-center-6710220
  7. ↑ http://www.fortsmithar.gov/Finance/files/8_City%20of%20Fort%20Smith%20Report%202011.pdf
  8. ↑ "This app is no longer available". CBS News.
  9. ↑ http://lancasteronline.com/article/local/788776_-60-Minutes--report-critical-of-Health-Management-Associates.html#ixzz2E5aTP8nw
  10. ↑ Creswell, Julie; Abelson, Reed (23 January 2014). "Hospital Chain Said to Scheme to Inflate Bills". New York, NY: New York Times.

External links

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