St. Joseph Stent Problems Continue for Towson Hospital
On top of mounting lawsuits over stent procedures by Dr. Mark Midei and tarnished public trust, St. Joseph Medical Center is now the target of a congressional probe into whether the unnecessary operations were an intentional effort to defraud American taxpayers.
>>MORE INFORMATION: St. Joseph Stent Problems with Dr. Midei
Senators Max Baucus and Charles Grassley, who head the Senate Finance Committee, have given the Towson, Maryland hospital until March 12 to surrender records on Medicare payments over heart stents that were not needed. The senators are looking at whether the hospital intentionally ripped off Medicare, and whether the hospital had any ties to stent manufacturers that may have encouraged them to promote unnecessary heart surgeries.
The allegations center on the activities of Dr. Mark Midei, once a marquee heart surgeon at the medical center. Midei was stripped of his duties at the hospital amid another federal investigation last summer following a patient complaint. The hospital has since acknowledged that hundreds of former patients of Dr. Midei, who were told they had potentially dangerous heart blockages, actually had minimal blockages that may not have required a stent implant.
In a story published this weekend in the Baltimore Sun, the paper reports that the senators are concerned both with the allegations that a St. Joseph doctor unnecessarily put patients at risk, and also with the broader implications of health care fraud and abuses:
“In addition to putting patients’ lives at risk, unnecessary medical procedures amount to wasteful spending of precious federal health care dollars,” the senators wrote in a letter to the hospital, which was sent to CEO Jeffrey K. Norman this week and shared with The Baltimore Sun.
St. Joseph officials pledged to cooperate, calling the committee’s interest understandable, given the hospital’s disclosure that hundreds of patients received expensive and potentially dangerous procedures that they might not have needed.
ST. JOSEPH STENT LAWSUITS
The lawyers at Saiontz & Kirk, P.A. represent individuals who are pursuing claims against Dr. Mark Midei and St. Joseph Medical Center as a result of an unnecessary stent procedure.
If you, a friend or family member received a letter about a stent implant by Dr. Mark Midei at St. Joseph Medical Center you have important legal rights. It is important to protect yourself and your family by requesting a free and confidential consultation and claim evaluation.
