Becker's Hospital Review

12 CFO / FINANCE Intermountain, SCL Health sign agreement to merge into 33-hospital system By Ayla Ellison S alt Lake City-based Intermoun- tain Healthcare and Broomfield, Colo.-based SCL Health have signed a letter of intent to merge, the organizations announced Sept. 16. e combined system will have more than 58,000 employees, operate 33 hospitals and 385 clinics across six states, and provide health insurance to about 1 million people. "We're excited to merge with SCL Health to usher in a new frontier for the health of communities throughout the Intermountain West and beyond," Intermountain President and CEO Marc Harrison, MD, said in a news release. "American healthcare needs to accel- erate the evolution toward population health and value, and this merger will swily ad- vance that cause across a broader geography." Dr. Harrison will serve as president and CEO of the merged system, which will be head- quartered in Salt Lake City. SCL President and CEO Lydia Jumonville will remain in her current role during the integration process and serve as a board member of a new com- bined board. "SCL Health and Intermountain are pursu- ing our merger from positions of strength," Ms. Jumonville said in a news release. "We are two individually strong health systems that are seeking to increase care quality, ac- cessibility, and affordability." Under the letter of intent, the combined organization will be named Intermountain Healthcare, but SCL Health's Catholic hospi- tals will retain their names and continue to operate according to existing practices. e organizations said they intend to fi- nalize a definitive agreement by the end of this year. e merger, which is subject to regulatory approvals, is expected to close in early 2022. n North Carolina changes certificate-of-need law By Alia Paavola N orth Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper signed a bill in late August that will make changes to the state's certif- icate-of-need law. Certificate-of-need laws require hospitals and medical providers to seek approval from state regulators to add services, medical equipment or beds. The goal of the law is to limit unnecessary services and increase competition. The new law allows medical providers to add more equip- ment and services before needing to undergo the certif- icate-of-need process by increasing the dollar threshold that must be exceeded. For example, for capital expen- ditures for new healthcare services, the threshold will rise to $4 million, up from $2 million. Additionally, for major medical equipment, the threshold would increase to $2 million, up from $750,000. The new thresholds would adjust each year for inflation, beginning September 2022. The bill also requires certificate-of-need holders to initiate construction projects within a specified time frame or lose the certificate. Projects costing $50 million or more would need to start within four years of the certificate becoming final. Mr. Cooper signed the bill into law Aug. 30. The House passed the bill in late August. The Senate passed the bill in May. n Feds file false claims suit against UPMC By Ayla Ellison T he U.S. Justice Department filed a False Claims Act complaint against Pittsburgh-based UPMC, its physician practice group and the chair of its depart- ment of cardiothoracic surgery. The complaint, announced Sept. 2, alleges the defen- dants submitted hundreds of false claims to Medicare, Medicaid and other government payers over the past six years. The complaint is based on a two-year investiga- tion into allegations brought under the qui tam, or whis- tleblower, provision of the False Claims Act by a former UPMC physician. Prosecutors allege James Luketich, MD, the longtime chair of UPMC's department of cardiothoracic surgery, regularly performs as many as three complex surgical procedures at the same time and fails to participate in some of the "key and critical" portions of the surgeries. Prosecutors argue Dr. Luketich's alleged practices violate statutes and regulations prohibiting teaching physicians from performing and billing the government for concur- rent surgeries. They further contend that his alleged prac- tices violate the standard of care and heighten the risk of serious complications. The claims made against the defendants are allegations, and there has been no determination of liability. n

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