Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1233009
43 OUTPATIENT SURGERY Johns Hopkins' $80M ASC is one of Maryland's largest — 5 things to know By Angie Stewart Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins Medicine opened one of Maryland's largest surgery centers in 2019. Five insights: 1. The Johns Hopkins Health Care & Surgery Center-Green Spring Station Pavilion III is one of six buildings on Green Spring Station Campus in Lu- therville, Md. 2. Many of the nearly 25,000 outpatient procedures performed each year at The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore will now be offered at the 110,000-square-foot Pavilion III. 3. Pavilion III gives Johns Hopkins greater capacity for neurosurgeries, cardiac surgeries and solid organ transplants. 4. General surgery, breast surgery, endocrine surgery and pediatric surgery are among the services available at the three-story building. 5. Johns Hopkins spent $80 million on the project. n DOJ alleges Indiana system offered ASC investments, higher pay in exchange for referrals By Angie Stewart T he Department of Justice joined a whistleblower lawsuit that alleged Indianapolis-based Community Health Network illegally paid physicians for referrals to its hospitals, ASCs and other facilities. A lawsuit filed by CHN's former CFO, om- as Fischer, alleged that the system paid phy- sicians kickbacks for years in violation of the False Claims Act. Mr. Fischer also claims CHN engaged in retaliatory conduct. e lawsuit was unsealed Dec. 23, 2019. Mr. Fischer is accusing CHN of paying phy- sicians "substantial" kickbacks in the form of inflated salaries, bonuses and investment opportunities in exchange for referrals. Pros- ecutors plan to investigate the number of pa- tients affected. e DOJ partially joined the lawsuit in Au- gust 2019 on behalf of the federal govern- ment. It filed its own complaint in early Jan- uary 2020, outlining an alleged scheme that amounted to tens of millions of dollars. e DOJ's allegations cite witness testimony. "e government's intervention demon- strates how seriously it takes the allegations Tom Fischer raised," said Jay Holland, Mr. Fischer's lead counsel. Mr. Fischer's counsel added that the incen- tives CHN allegedly provided to lock in re- ferrals would lead physicians to order more medically unnecessary services and give the hospital little reason to compete for patients by offering low-cost, high-quality care. n Optum partners with Minnesota health system to develop ASCs By Rachel Popa A SC operator Optum finalized a partnership with Allina Health System in Minneapolis in December, paving the way for the potential devel- opment of up to a dozen new surgery centers in the next five years, according to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Through the partnership, Optum and its subsidiary, Surgical Care Affiliates, will become equity partners in new ASCs developed with Allina. Optum also will begin managing Allina's ASCs at the Plymouth, Minn.-based West Health medical campus in February. "We are committed to supporting the community with lower-cost settings of care," Lisa Shannon, COO at Allina, told the Star-Tribune. "While the payers did not trigger our pursuit of this plan ... we believe the payers are going to be positively encouraged by our development." SCA had three partnerships with ASCs in Minnesota when UnitedHealth Group, Optum's parent company, acquired SCA in 2017, according to the Star-Tribune. SCA said it is "pleased to be working with Allina" and looks forward to reduc- ing the total cost of care for patients. The financial terms of the partnership were not released. n