Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1462911
45 HEALTHCARE NEWS Physician under fire for alleged fraud, improper employee bonuses By Laura Dyrda N ew details have emerged about the California Justice Department's fraud investigation into a pain management center chain that closed abruptly in May 2021, according to the Los Angeles Times. Six details: 1. Former Lags Medical Centers employees said they were given bonuses for treating more than 32 patients per day, and practice owner Francis Lagattuta, MD, confirmed the arrangement in his deposition to a malpractice lawsuit. He said staff would receive "like $10 a patient" if they saw more than the benchmark. 2. Two employees also testified Lags Medi- cal offered bonuses for performing certain procedures, including injections and punch biopsies. However, Dr. Lagattuta said he didn't pay bonuses for specific procedures. 3. Former patients of the clinic testified they were talked into procedures at Lags Medical locations and felt pressure to consent to injec- tions. If they didn't undergo the procedures, the patients feared the clinicians wouldn't prescribe them anymore opioids because of noncompliance with their treatment plan. 4. Lags Medical was a high-volume proce- dure center, with Lags clinicians performing 1 in 6 of all nerve ablations billed through Medi-Cal from 2015 to 2020, according to Medi-Cal data. Dr. Lagattuta's provider number also billed for more than double of the most extensive drug tests for Medi-Cal patients than the second highest-volume biller, which was a lab company. 5. Medicare paid Dr. Lagattuta $5.4 million for performing around 60,000 extensive drug tests from 2017-19, according to the report. 6. Dr. Lagattuta was previously investigated aer a patient filed a complaint with the medical board in 2019, but two investigators didn't find evidence of wrongdoing. n Top 10 states for physician pay | 2022 By Marcus Robertson A labama again grabs the No. 1 spot for highest median physician salary, ac- cording to the Physicians Thrive 2022 Physician Compensation Report, likely due in part to its ratio of physicians per capita. Missouri, Iowa and South Carolina are new to the top 10 list, replacing Utah, Ohio and North Carolina. Here are the top 10 states for median physician pay: 1. Alabama: $348,000 2. Kentucky: $340,000 3. Oklahoma $338,000 4. Indiana $337,000 (tie) 5. South Carolina* $332,000 (tie) 5. Missouri* $332,000 7. Florida: $331,000 (tie) 8. Iowa* $330,000 (tie) 8. Georgia* $330,000 10. Tennessee: $329,000 n Top 5 billionaires in US healthcare By Ayla Ellison Three healthcare industry leaders each have a net worth of more than $9 billion. Ranked on descending net worth, here are the top five healthcare leaders on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index as of Feb. 23. 1. Thomas Frist Jr., MD: $21.6 billion Dr. Frist is a co-founder of HCA Healthcare. He owns more than 20 percent of the Nashville, Tenn.-based company. 2. Patrick Soon-Shiong, MD: $9.8 billion Dr. Soon-Shiong invented the cancer drug Abraxane. He sold his drug companies Abraxis and American Pharmaceutical Partners for a combined $9.1 billion. 3. Carl Cook: $9.6 billion Mr. Cook is the CEO of Cook Group, a medical device manufacturer. 4. Reinhold Schmieding: $8.6 billion Mr. Schmieding is the founder and president of Arthrex, an orthope- dic surgical tools company. 5. Ronda Stryker: $7.6 billion Ms. Stryker is the director of Stryker Corp., a medical equipment company founded by her grandfather. n