Business
Tenet could face SEC action
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted May 16, 2005
The Securities and Exchange Commission is considering bringing action against Tenet Healthcare Corp. and six former executives for alleged securities violations, the troubled hospital chain said.
Tenet announced on April 27 that it had received notification from the SEC that investigators were going to recommend bringing civil enforcement action against the company, former chief executive Jeffrey Barbakow and five other leaders who stepped down in 2002 and 2003 amid a series of legal and financial woes at the company.
The SEC's concerns center on Tenet's disclosures in financial reports related to Medicare outlier reimbursements as well as stop-loss payments under managed care contracts, the Dallas-based hospital chain said.
Tenet said it was cooperating with the SEC and would have an opportunity to respond to the notices before any formal action was brought.
The company voluntarily changed its outlier billing practices in 2003, a few days before the U.S. Dept. of Justice sued, claiming Tenet had overbilled Medicare. The company also faces a civil racketeering lawsuit by the Florida attorney general over outlier reimbursements.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2005/05/16/bibf0516.htm.