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McALESTER, Okla. (AP) — In a story Oct. 19 about the McAlester Regional Health Center, The Associated Press reported erroneously that the hospital is the subject of a federal investigation. The hospital is not being investigated, it is cooperating with an investigation of an unnamed patient-care provider with which it used to do business. The AP also misspelled the name of the investigating body. It is the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' Office of Inspector General, not the Centers for Medicare & Medical Services Office of Inspector General.
A corrected version of the story is below:
McAlester hospital cooperates in investigation
McAlester Regional Health Center cooperating with federal investigation of former provider
McALESTER, Okla. (AP) — McAlester Regional Health Center is cooperating with a federal investigation regarding a patient-care service provider that the hospital previously had a relationship with, according to its chief executive officer, although he declined to provide many details.
The McAlester News-Capital (http://bit.ly/1t0skBY ) reported Sunday that CEO David Keith said that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' Office of Inspector General is investigating.
"Basically, a ... lawsuit was brought against an entity that we have (had) a contractual relationship with," Keith said. "We and about 69 plus hospitals.
"As part of that investigation, they (the federal government) requested information/records from us. Patient care records. And we said, 'Sure,' so we are sending those records to the OIG," Keith said.
A spokesman for the Office of Inspector General of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services declined comment, the newspaper reported.
Keith would not elaborate on what the investigation is about, and would not name the provider.
"Then I would not be a very good cooperative partner with the OIG in this investigation, and I've got a feeling that would not bode well for us," Keith said.
"I have to be very careful because there is a major OIG investigation ... and potential lawsuit," Keith said. "I want to be very clear about this. We are one of 70 hospitals participating and supporting the investigation against a vendor that is no longer associated with this hospital.
"We've not been charged, but this entity is under an OIG investigation, and we are participating in the investigation," Keith said.
Keith said he does not know if the hospital might have to reimburse the federal government for services/actions of the patient-care provider in question.
"We don't know until the investigation is concluded," Keith said. "We really don't."
Keith also said the hospital recently voluntarily notified the federal government of what he described as an apparent overpayment to a physician using Medicare money.
"We self-disclosed because we discovered an issue here that dates back years prior to my arrival -- a relationship with a doctor that did not meet fair market value," Keith said.
"I self-disclosed it and we are going to pay the money back," Keith said. "We don't know yet (how much.) It will probably take two or three years before the Office of Inspector General even makes a determination what the payback is."
He also declined to identify the doctor.
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