Columbia’s El Paso facilities searched by FBI agents

Investigators from the FBI, the Internal Revenue Service, and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) left with several boxes of documents after they searched Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corp. facilities in and around El Paso, Texas, March 20.

The search is apparently related to the company’s business practices. The New York Times reported the search warrant authorizing the investigation and seizure of documents targets information relating to Columbia’s El Paso medical facilities; El Paso Healthcare System Ltd., the parent corporation that owns the El Paso facilities; the affiliated Sun Country Medical Equipment Center; and several local physicians. Investigators seized medical records, billing and financial statements, and other documents.

Government officials have not announced the focus of the investigation. But law enforcement officials have said it involves payments to Columbia, the nation’s largest for-profit healthcare corporation, on behalf of Medicare, Medicaid, and the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services (CHAMPUS) insurance program. The investigation comes soon after HHS announced the expansion of its Operation Restore Trust program targeting Medicare and Medicaid fraud.

While Columbia officials say they believe the investigation is limited to the company’s El Paso facilities, the New York Times reported that law enforcement sources said investigations of Columbia were proceeding in other cities.

Related Sites
Columbia/HCA
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Department of Health and Human Services