A “60 Minutes” report Sunday focused on interviews with former Health Management Associates, Inc., employees and physicians who contended that the Naples-based hospital chain pressured them to admit emergency-room patients to bring in more revenues.
Correspondent Steve Kroft had on-camera interviews with people, including physicians, who worked at HMA hospitals in Texas, Pennsylvania and Arkansas. Also, “60 Minutes” interviewed a former company compliance officer and FBI investigator who said he thinks HMA inappropriately billed the federal government for admissions under the Medicare program.
Alan Levine, an HMA senior vice president and Florida Group president, appeared on the show and said the company does not set quotas for patient admissions. HMA also issued a statement early Monday, describing the report as “inaccurate” and saying the company’s admissions data is in line with the hospital industry nationally.
“Instead, “60 Minutes” relied entirely on disgruntled former employees of the company and former contracted physicians, several of whom are seeking financial gain through active litigation with Health Management,” the HMA statement said.
HMA has 70 hospitals in 15 states, with the largest concentrations in Florida, Alabama and North Carolina, according to the company’s website.
