Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
State Auditor Faces Lawsuit In Battle Over Small Rural Missouri Hospital
KCUR: Missouri State Auditor Faces Lawsuit As Battle For Control Of Tiny Rural Hospital Escalates
A battle royale has erupted in tiny Unionville, Missouri, over the town’s endangered community hospital. Trustees of Putnam County Memorial Hospital in the north central community are trying to get rid of the company that took over the ailing institution in 2016 and then ran more than $90 million in questionable lab billings through the hospital. The move has triggered a lawsuit by the company, Hospital Partners Inc., which claims it was illegally booted out and is seeking $2 million in damages from the hospital’s board of trustees and Missouri State Auditor Nicole Galloway. (Margolies and Sable-Smith, 4/6)
KCUR: Woes Pile Up For The Man Once Greeted As Savior Of Rural Hospitals
As he fights to retain control of Putnam County Memorial Hospital in Unionville, Missouri, Jorge Perez’s woes continue to pile up at other rural hospitals where he was once hailed as a hero. Last month, in the second of a three-part series, CBS News aired a piece about Empower, a Perez-run company whose affiliates have been involved in many of the rural hospital takeovers orchestrated by Perez and his associates. (Margolies and Sable-Smith, 4/6)
And in Georgia —
Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Georgia Hospital’s Ex-CEO, 2 Doctors Indicted On Federal Drug Charges
The former CEO of a North Georgia hospital and two doctors have been indicted on federal charges of illegally prescribing thousands of doses of pain medications, officials said Friday. (Burns, 4/6)
