In what has stamped a costly chapter in Asante Health System's ledger, the Southern Oregon hospital network and one of its surgeons have agreed to cough up $430,000 to clear the slate on health care fraud accusations. According to a Justice Department news release, Asante and cardiothoracic surgeon Dr. Charles Carmeci faced allegations that from 2015 to early 2021, they had been submitting fraudulent claims for numerous surgery procedures to government-backed health insurance programs, per reporting from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon.

These claims, sent to Medicare, Medicaid, and TRICARE, included charges for surgeries such as decortications and pericardiectomies, which the allegations claim were either not qualified for reimbursement or simply improper. Caught in the middle of a larger inquiry, Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center, where Dr. Carmeci operates, becomes the stage for this settlement, which, as the district attorney's office clarified, "is not an admission of liability," with both Asante and Dr. Carmeci denying the assertions according to Becker's Hospital Review.

A separate report by KDRV News connects the busted billing practices to a whistleblower lawsuit from a physician at the hospital that pointed fingers at hospital management for allegedly turning a blind eye to the fraud. Instead, claims the lawsuit, the whistleblower faced retaliation from the higher-ups.

Adding to Asante's woes, the hospital system has found itself entangled in a police investigation concerning drug diversion allegations that have been linked to patient deaths. The details of this aspect of the hospital's struggles come to us via Becker's Hospital Review, piecing together a puzzle of systemic issues that run far deeper than just falsified billing. Dr. Carmeci remains listed as an attending physician at the center, despite the shadow cast by these recent events.