Tenet Ordered To Pay $253 Million to Former Executive in Contract Dispute -and- GAO: Number of U.S. physicians climbs 26% in decade

CAL/AAEM News Service pottsbri@yahoo.com
Thu, 6 Nov 2003 15:42:13 -0800 (PST)


--0-34007765-1068162133=:98132
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii


Well, they sure do get due process protection, don't they?





-----Original Message-----

From: California Healthline [mailto:CALIFORNIAHEALTHLINE@ADVISORY.COM] 

Sent: Friday, October 31, 2003 10:01 AM





Tenet Ordered To Pay $253 Million to Former Executive in Contract Dispute 

10/31/2003 

The 2nd District Court of Appeals in Los Angeles on Tuesday ruled that California-based <http://tenethealth.com/TenetHealth> Tenet Healthcare must pay $253 million to a former executive for failure to honor a compensation contract in 1993, the <http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-tenet31oct31,1,6164915.story> Los Angeles Times reports (Vrana, Los Angeles Times, 10/31). In the case, John Bedrosian, a co-founder of Tenet predecessor National Medical Enterprises, filed a lawsuit over allegations that the company failed to provide him with stock benefits when he was terminated without cause in 1993. Bedrosian has not received any of the benefits, which were due from the start of fiscal year 1994 through September 1995, Bedrosian attorney Richard Hodge said. A lower court had awarded $9.2 million to Bedrosian, based on a share price of $19 and no subsequent stock splits. The appeals court decision, written by Justice Roger Boren, calculated a share price of $52.50, the highest !
 market
 value within a "reasonable" time limit, and included subsequent stock splits. Tenet officials plan to appeal the decision. "We do not believe the evidence in this case justifies this huge award, and we will ask the court to promptly review," Tenet Deputy General Counsel Gary Robinson said (Dunn, <http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/business/7145651.htm> Bloomberg/Philadelphia Inquirer, 10/31). The award, equal to about one-third of Tenet earnings in 2002, would represent a "severe financial blow" for the company, the Times reports. Tenet officials have said that the company would take the award as a one-time charge in the third quarter (Los Angeles Times, 10/31). Tenet currently faces several state and federal investigations. Since October 2002, the <http://finance.senate.gov/sitepages/committee.htm> Senate Finance Committee, the <http://www.sec.gov/> Securities and Exchange Commission, the HHS <http://www.oig.hhs.gov/> Office of Inspector General, the <http://www.usdoj.gov/!
 > Justice
 Department and the <http://www.ftc.gov/> Federal Trade Commission have launched separate investigations into Tenet related to alleged Medicare fraud and other issues. The company also faces an investigation by the http://myfloridalegal.com/pages.nsf/0/ebc480598bbf32d885256cc6005b54d1?OpenDocument Florida Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (http://www.californiahealthline.org/members/basecontent.asp?contentid=50017&collectionid=3&program=1 California Healthline, 10/20). 

 

===================================

AHA NEWS NOW

The Daily Report for Health Care Executives

www.ahanews.com

===================================

Monday, Nov. 3, 2003

+++

4) GAO: Number of U.S. physicians climbs 26% in decade

The U.S. physician population increased 26% between 1991 and 2001, or twice the rate of total population growth during the period, according a report released today by the General Accounting Office. The average number of physicians per 100,000 people increased from 214 to 239, while the mix of generalists and specialists remained about one-third generalists and two-thirds specialists. The number of physicians per 100,000 people in non-metropolitan areas increased 23% from 1991-2001, while the number of physicians in metropolitan areas increased 10%. However, metropolitan areas continued to have about 145 more physicians per 100,000 people than non-metropolitan areas, the study indicates. The report can be found at http://www.gao.gov

==================================

Copyright 2003 by the American Hospital Association. All rights reserved. For republication rights, contact Craig Webb. AHA News is a registered trademark of the American Hospital Association. The opinions expressed in AHA News Now are not necessarily those of the American Hospital Association.



Brian Potts 
Managing Editor, CAL/AAEM News Service 
MS-IV, UC-Irvine

---------------------------------
Do you Yahoo!?
Protect your identity with Yahoo! Mail AddressGuard
--0-34007765-1068162133=:98132
Content-Type: text/html; charset=us-ascii

<DIV><FONT size=2>
<P>Well, they sure do get due process protection, don't they?</P>
<P></P>
<P></P>
<P>-----Original Message-----</P>
<P>From: California Healthline [</FONT><A href="mailto:CALIFORNIAHEALTHLINE@ADVISORY.COM"><U><FONT color=#0000ff size=2>mailto:CALIFORNIAHEALTHLINE@ADVISORY.COM</U></FONT></A><FONT size=2>] </P>
<P>Sent: Friday, October 31, 2003 10:01 AM</P>
<P></P>
<P></P>
<P>Tenet Ordered To Pay $253 Million to Former Executive in Contract Dispute </P>
<P>10/31/2003 </P>
<P>The 2nd District Court of Appeals in Los Angeles on Tuesday ruled that California-based &lt;</FONT><A href="http://tenethealth.com/TenetHealth"><U><FONT color=#0000ff size=2>http://tenethealth.com/TenetHealth</U></FONT></A><FONT size=2>&gt; Tenet Healthcare must pay $253 million to a former executive for failure to honor a compensation contract in 1993, the &lt;</FONT><A href="http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-tenet31oct31,1,6164915.story"><U><FONT color=#0000ff size=2>http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-tenet31oct31,1,6164915.story</U></FONT></A><FONT size=2>&gt; Los Angeles Times reports (Vrana, Los Angeles Times, 10/31). In the case, John Bedrosian, a co-founder of Tenet predecessor National Medical Enterprises, filed a lawsuit over allegations that the company failed to provide him with stock benefits when he was terminated without cause in 1993. Bedrosian has not received any of the benefits, which were due from the start of fiscal year 1994 through September 1!
 995,
 Bedrosian attorney Richard Hodge said. A lower court had awarded $9.2 million to Bedrosian, based on a share price of $19 and no subsequent stock splits. The appeals court decision, written by Justice Roger Boren, calculated a share price of $52.50, the highest market value within a "reasonable" time limit, and included subsequent stock splits. Tenet officials plan to appeal the decision. "We do not believe the evidence in this case justifies this huge award, and we will ask the court to promptly review," Tenet Deputy General Counsel Gary Robinson said (Dunn, &lt;</FONT><A href="http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/business/7145651.htm"><U><FONT color=#0000ff size=2>http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/business/7145651.htm</U></FONT></A><FONT size=2>&gt; Bloomberg/Philadelphia Inquirer, 10/31). The award, equal to about one-third of Tenet earnings in 2002, would represent a "severe financial blow" for the company, the Times reports. Tenet officials have said that the company wo!
 uld take
 the award as a one-time charge in the third quarter (Los Angeles Times, 10/31). Tenet currently faces several state and federal investigations. Since October 2002, the &lt;</FONT><A href="http://finance.senate.gov/sitepages/committee.htm"><U><FONT color=#0000ff size=2>http://finance.senate.gov/sitepages/committee.htm</U></FONT></A><FONT size=2>&gt; Senate Finance Committee, the &lt;</FONT><A href="http://www.sec.gov/"><U><FONT color=#0000ff size=2>http://www.sec.gov/</U></FONT></A><FONT size=2>&gt; Securities and Exchange Commission, the HHS &lt;</FONT><A href="http://www.oig.hhs.gov/"><U><FONT color=#0000ff size=2>http://www.oig.hhs.gov/</U></FONT></A><FONT size=2>&gt; Office of Inspector General, the &lt;</FONT><A href="http://www.usdoj.gov/"><U><FONT color=#0000ff size=2>http://www.usdoj.gov/</U></FONT></A><FONT size=2>&gt; Justice Department and the &lt;</FONT><A href="http://www.ftc.gov/"><U><FONT color=#0000ff size=2>http://www.ftc.gov/</U></FONT></A><FONT size=2>&gt;!
  Federal
 Trade Commission have launched separate investigations into Tenet related to alleged Medicare fraud and other issues. The company also faces an investigation by the </FONT><A href="http://myfloridalegal.com/pages.nsf/0/ebc480598bbf32d885256cc6005b54d1"><U><FONT color=#0000ff size=2><A href="http://myfloridalegal.com/pages.nsf/0/ebc480598bbf32d885256cc6005b54d1?OpenDocument">http://myfloridalegal.com/pages.nsf/0/ebc480598bbf32d885256cc6005b54d1</U></FONT></A><FONT size=2>?OpenDocument</A> Florida Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (</FONT><A href="http://www.californiahealthline.org/members/basecontent.asp?contentid=5"><U><FONT color=#0000ff size=2><A href="http://www.californiahealthline.org/members/basecontent.asp?contentid=50017&amp;collectionid=3&amp;program=1">http://www.californiahealthline.org/members/basecontent.asp?contentid=5</U></FONT></A><FONT size=2>0017&amp;collectionid=3&amp;program=1</A> California Healthline, 10/20). </P>
<P>&nbsp;</P><FONT size=2>
<P>===================================</P>
<P>AHA NEWS NOW</P>
<P>The Daily Report for Health Care Executives</P>
<P></FONT><A href="http://us.f413.mail.yahoo.com/ym/www.ahanews.com"><U><FONT color=#0000ff size=2>www.ahanews.com</U></FONT></A></P><FONT size=2>
<P>===================================</P>
<P>Monday, Nov. 3, 2003</P>
<P>+++</P>
<P>4) GAO: Number of U.S. physicians climbs 26% in decade</P>
<P>The U.S. physician population increased 26% between 1991 and 2001, or twice the rate of total population growth during the period, according a report released today by the General Accounting Office. The average number of physicians per 100,000 people increased from 214 to 239, while the mix of generalists and specialists remained about one-third generalists and two-thirds specialists. The number of physicians per 100,000 people in non-metropolitan areas increased 23% from 1991-2001, while the number of physicians in metropolitan areas increased 10%. However, metropolitan areas continued to have about 145 more physicians per 100,000 people than non-metropolitan areas, the study indicates. The report can be found at </FONT><A href="http://www.gao.gov/"><U><FONT color=#0000ff size=2>http://www.gao.gov</U></FONT></A><FONT size=2></P>
<P>==================================</P>
<P>Copyright 2003 by the American Hospital Association. All rights reserved. For republication rights, contact Craig Webb. AHA News is a registered trademark of the American Hospital Association. The opinions expressed in AHA News Now are not necessarily those of the American Hospital Association.</P></FONT></FONT></DIV><BR><BR><STRONG>Brian Potts <BR>Managing Editor, CAL/AAEM News Service</STRONG> <BR>MS-IV, UC-Irvine<p><hr SIZE=1>
Do you Yahoo!?<br>
<a href="http://antispam.yahoo.com/whatsnewfree">Protect your identity with Yahoo! Mail AddressGuard</a>
--0-34007765-1068162133=:98132--