CLOSER TO HOMELifePoint Hospitals operates 52 hospital campuses in 17 states. Its three facilities near Chattanooga are Southern Tennessee Medical Center in Winchester, Emerald-Hodgson Hospital in Sewanee and Athens Regional Medical Center.
Two major Tennessee-based hospital chains are facing probes of their billing practices, while a third settled some charges by paying nearly $1 million but still faces an ongoing inquiry.
The three area firms – Vanguard Health Systems, Community Health Systems and LifePoint Hospitals – are facing inquiries for facilities they operate outside the Nashville area.
Medicare advocates including the Medicare Rights Center say that the efforts by two federal agencies – the U.S. Justice Department and the Inspector General in the Department of Health and Human Services – are a good thing in that they save money and help root out fraud and waste, and because of a new law, they are likely to become more common.
“A lot of times they don’t find anything,” said Joe Baker, president of the group, “but when they do, it saves money.”