Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/908020
55 HEALTHCARE NEWS Georgia Supreme Court Rules Against ASC Owners; Upholds State's CON Rule: 4 Key Points By Mary Rechtoris T he Georgia Supreme Court ruled against Cartersville, Ga.-based The Georgia Advanced Surgery Center for Women owners and opted to uphold the state's certificate-of-need legislation, according to Atlanta Business Chronicle. Here are four key points: 1. Hugo Ribot Jr., MD, and Malcolm Barfield, DO, co-owners of The Georgia Advanced Surgery Center for Women, filed a suit against the Georgia De- partment of Community Health after officials denied their CON application to add a second OR to the ASC. 2. The pair claimed the CON rule was unconstitutional and violated the Georgia Constitution's anti-monopoly provision. 3. The state Supreme Court ruled against the ASC owners in a unanimous ruling. In the court's opinion, Justice Harold Melton stated, "By its plain terms, [the CON law] does not authorize monopolistic 'contracts' relating to providers of new institutional health services. It only requires that all such providers obtain a certificate of need before adding new services." 4. The Oct. 16 decision upheld a lower court ruling. n Surgical Care Affiliates Invests in Florida ASC By Laura Dyrda Surgical Care Affiliates made an equity investment in Brandon (Fla.) Ambu- latory Surgery Center. Built in 2005, BASC includes six operating rooms, 20 pre- and post-op beds and a large onsite waiting area. The multispecialty ASC includes gynecol- ogy, neurosurgery, general surgery, endoscopy, urology, pain management and plastic surgery, in addition to orthopedics. "We are excited to partner with the physicians of BASC," said David Cutter, vice president for SCA in Florida. "With SCA's scalable surgical program management expertise and strong relationships with managed care plans throughout the state of Florida, patients will have greater access to care in a high quality, low cost outpatient setting." SCA partners with health plans, medical groups and health systems across the country and touts more than 200 surgical facility affiliations. SCA joined OptumCare, part of Optum, in 2017, becoming a member of the nation's largest network of primary care physicians, advanced practice clinicians and ancillary service providers. "We chose to partner with SCA because they will be a valuable strategic partner as we continue to expand our offerings to the Brandon community," said Scott Goldsmith, MD, a physician partner with BASC. "We are especially excited to have SCA on board as we continue to grow and expand our out- patient total hip and total knee replacement programs." n Memorial Hermann Endoscopy and Surgery Center Physicians to Pay $1.5M+ to Settle Medicare Fraud Allegations By Eric Oliver N orth Houston, Texas-based Memorial Hermann Endoscopy and Surgery Cen- ter physicians agreed to pay more than $1.5 million to settle Medicare fraud allegations, the Houston Chronicle reports. Here's what you should know: 1. Gurunath ota Reddy, MD, and other surgery center physicians allegedly performed colonoscopies for 7.5 years that Medicare deemed "essentially worthless." 2. United Surgical Partners International oper- ates the center, while the physicians are part of Houston-based Digestive & Liver Disease Consultants PA. Houston-based Memorial Hermann Health System is a minority owner. 3. A former nurse claimed center physicians were spending as little as two minutes on a colonoscopy, while not examining the entire co- lon. e nurse also claimed Dr. Reddy allegedly reused surgical gowns to save money. e nurse was fired the day aer she brought the issues to the attention of USPI's regional vice president. e practice's lawyer Gene Besen disputed the timing and reason behind her dismissal. 4. No liability was determined in the fraud case. 5. Mr. Besen said in a statement the practice settled, "to avoid the cost of defending allega- tions and to continue to serve the community with the highest quality of care and standards as they have done for the last three decades." Mr. Besen said the physicians have repeatedly denied the allegations. n