Outfit picked to run hospital was once hit with fraud charges

Quorum Health paid $95.5M to settle claims of Medicare fraud; slated to operate new LICH

From left: Long Island College Hospital, Merrell Schexnydre and James Horrar, chief executive of Quorum Health Resources
From left: Long Island College Hospital, Merrell Schexnydre and James Horrar, chief executive of Quorum Health Resources

The hospital firm recently tapped to operate the reborn Long Island College Hospital once agreed to pay almost $100 million to settle government allegations it committed Medicare fraud, according to a report.

In two lawsuits, including one filed by the Justice Department, Tennessee-based Quorum Health Resources allegedly inflated or misappropriated costs to boost government reimbursements from 1985 to 1999, DNAinfo reported. In 2001, the company agreed to pay $95.5 million to settle the two cases.

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Last week, Brooklyn Health Partners — a collaboration between Quorum and property developer Merrell Schexnydre — won the bidding for the LICH property. The $250 million plan will see Quorum, which runs roughly 200 medical facilities in the U.S., operate a 300-to 400-bed hospital on the Cobble Hill property. SUNY shut down the money-losing LICH in February 2013.

The partnership’s proposal also includes building 1,000 mixed-income apartments, commercial space, and medical offices at the location, according to the article. Brooklyn Health is currently in the process of securing financing for the project. If it fails to come up with 10 percent of its $250 million bid by the first week of May, SUNY could find a new developer for the site, the article said. [DNAinfo] — Angela Hunt