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HEALTHCARE
NEWS
Massachusetts General Hospital resolves
overlapping surgery suit for $14.6M
By Kelly Gooch
B
oston-based Massachusetts Gener-
al Hospital has agreed to pay $14.6
million to settle a federal whistleblower
lawsuit alleging that the hospital violated
Medicare and Medicaid rules when some of
its orthopedic surgeons engaged in concur-
rent surgeries, according to e Boston Globe.
e settlement resolves claims brought by
Lisa Wollman, MD, an anesthesiologist
who used to work at the Harvard-affiliated
teaching facility, under the Massachusetts
and federal false claims acts.
Dr. Wollman alleged that at least five
orthopedic surgeons jeopardized patient
safety while conducting concurrent surgeries
from 2010 to 2015, when she worked at the
hospital.
She also alleged that the hospital violated
Medicare and Medicaid rules when teaching
surgeons weren't present for or weren't per-
forming the key and critical portions of certain
operations, her attorneys said in a news release.
Additionally, her allegations included that
physicians failed to designate a backup sur-
geon to be immediately available as needed
to assist in parts of the overlapping surgeries
for which the teaching surgeons were absent,
and that the hospital billed the government
for excessive anesthesia services, according
to her attorneys and the Globe.
Dr. Wollman filed her initial lawsuit in 2015,
but she revised the suit in June 2017 aer the
government declined to intervene and the
court dismissed the original filing.
Under the settlement, reached Feb. 18,
Massachusetts will pay $14.6 million to the
federal government and state, including
Massachusetts health insurers.
"Patients should be fully informed about the
details of any medical procedure, especially
when it comes to simultaneous surgeries,"
Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey
said in a statement cited by the Globe. "is
resolution returns nearly $2 million to Mass-
Health and the Group Insurance Commission,
and requires updated consent forms at Mass
General Brigham to improve transparency."
Massachusetts General Hospital did not
admit liability as part of the settlement, and
leaders sent an email to the hospital commu-
nity saying the hospital "continues to believe
it always has complied with legal require-
ments regarding overlapping surgery" and
"determined that it would be most prudent
to resolve the matter fully by settlement at
this time," according to the newspaper.
Dr. Wollman said in a news release: "MGH
has new leadership, and I am pleased this
case put us in the position where we could
have a dialogue that will improve patient
care and, as importantly, transparency."
e claim by Dr. Wollman is the latest
regarding concurrent surgeries at Mas-
sachusetts General Hospital. Since 2019,
the hospital has reached three settlements
regarding claims stemming from these
surgeries, totaling $32.7 million, according
to the Globe. n
20 biggest healthcare companies by revenue
By Laura Dyrda
Fortune 500 tracks the largest companies in the world
based on 2021 revenue.
Here are the 20 largest healthcare companies based on
revenue last year.
1. CVS Health: $268.7 billion
2. UnitedHealth Group: $257.1 billion
3. McKesson: $231 billion
4. AmerisourceBergen: $189.9 billion
5. Cigna: $160.4 billion
6. Cardinal Health: $152.9 billion
7. Anthem: $121.9 billion
8. Centene: $111.1 billion
9. Johnson & Johnson: $82 billion
10. Humana: $77.1 billion
11. HCA Healthcare: $51.5 billion
12. Merck: $48 billion
13. AbbVie: $45.8 billion
14. Bristol-Myers Squibb: $42.5 billion
15. Pfizer: $41.9 billion
16. Abbott Laboratories: $34.6 billion
17. Amgen: $25.4 billion
18. Gilead Sciences: $24.7 billion
19. Eli Lilly: $24.5 billion
20. Danaher: $22.3 billion n
