FBI reports Chicago Hospital involved in Scam

 Posted on December 00, 0000 in negligence

According to a recent report in the Bangor Daily News, the FBI is alleging that a doctor at Chicago's Sacred Heart Hospital was giving patients unneeded tracheotomies. The 90-page affidavit prepared by FBI officials outline the details. The complaint that was filed alleges that the hospital and the doctors practicing at Sacred Heart Hospital, a for profit entity, performed invasive surgical procedures that were unnecessary in order to justify falsified patient billing. A tracheotomy is a procedure that is typically performed as an emergency procedure that is used to open an airway directly to the windpipe for patients that cannot breathe. This was the most common procedure that was performed as a part of this scam to defraud the Medicare and Medicaid out of millions of dollars. The revenue for each of these unnecessary procedures averaged $160,000.00. One specific allegation states that a surgeon performed unnecessary tracheotomies on 28 different Medicare patients between early 2010 and January of this year. Five of the patients out of the 28 died within two weeks of receiving the procedure. That death rate is three times higher than the statewide rate in the entire state of Illinois. Reports state that the hospital reported a profit of $9.4 million for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2012, which is a huge contrast to the $1.3 million reported for the previous year. Doctors and hospital officials are supposed to be people that are supposed to operate ethically and help people instead of hurting them. If you or a family member has been hurt because of the negligence of a physician or hospital staff, an experienced and aggressive Illinois personal injury attorney can assess the case. The attorney will go through all the facts of the case to determine if you do have a case to sue for damages.