New Grady CEO's old hospital settles fraud case for $1.4M

A Texas university medical center and the Dallas hospital where Grady Memorial Hospital's new CEO comes from have agreed to a $1.4 million settlement made public Thursday following a government investigation into alleged Medicare and Medicaid billing fraud. The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and Parkland Memorial Hospital cooperated with investigators but denied claims by federal and state agencies that university physicians inadequately supervised surgeons in training and improperly billed Medicare and Medicaid for services they didn't provide. Parkland, where the university physicians teach, isn't required to pay anything under the agreement. John Haupert, who will take over as Grady's CEO in October, has served as the public hospital's chief operating officer and second-highest ranking administrator since 2006. A Grady search committee chose Haupert, an Arkansas native, from among hundreds of applicants because he has a successful track record of dealing with financial issues at hospitals similar to Grady, board chairman Pete Correll said in July after announcing his selection. The Atlanta safety net hospital is facing an up to $25 million budget shortfall this year.at