The United States government issued a $1.78 million fine against Worcester, Mass.-based Saint Vincent Hospital after it overcharged Medicare for inpatient services, including cardiac surgeries. Nurses are "outraged" at the hospital's leadership and its owner, Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare.
The hospital received Medicare outlier payments it was not entitled to, according to a Dec. 9 news release from the Justice Department. Between 2018 and 2019, it inflated charges to receive increased payments, then failed to fully reimburse the government.
The Massachusetts Nurses Association penned a news release Dec. 12 expressing nurses' frustration towards Tenet.
"Once again, our CEO and Tenet Healthcare has demonstrated its disgraceful desire for profits over any concern for the quality and safety of patient care," Marlena Pellegrino, RN, a medical surgical nurse and co-chair of the MNA local bargaining unit at Saint Vincent Hospital, said in the release.
Tenet Healthcare has amassed more than $1.8 billion in federal fines over the past 20 years, the MNA said. The news release specifically referenced two retaliation firing lawsuits totaling $35.6 million, and one case of charging Medicare for unnecessary procedures totaling $1.41 million.
"The fine by the Government also follows more than a dozen pending charges by nurses encompassing more than 20 counts of unfair labor practices by Tenet with the National Labor Relations Board for Tenet's violation of their union rights, as well as...
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