Aultman fires back in dispute with Mercy

CANTON Facing allegations of partial concern practices, Aultman Health Foundation fired back in tribunal this week, saying Clemency Checkup Center is making false claims that amount to extortion because Clemency can't vie legitimately in the marketplace. In December, Clemency became the up-to-the-minute rival to litigate Aultman Health Foundation, its namesake infirmary and the AultCare and William McKinley Life coverage companies over what Clemency trade names as a strategy to monopolise the local health-care marketplace through bribery. Aultman Hospital is the biggest installation in a five-county country comprising Stark, Tuscarawas, Wayne, Lewis Carroll and Holmes. Clemency Checkup Center, a not-for-profit defined by the Sisters of Charity of St. Saint Augustine Health System and University Hospitals Health System, is the 2nd biggest hospital, and Aultman's head competitor. The basic facts aren't really in dispute. But what Aultman names a strategical concern move, Clemency phone calls cheating — and the rhetoric is hot. "This is a bad lawsuit," said Aultman lawyer Woody Allen Schulman. "This is not good for our community." "Aultman claims in its response that everything is appropriate. Well, let's take a look," responded Spike Lee Plakas, a lawyer for Mercy. The issues At the dispute's core: Starting in 1997, Aultman Health Foundation gave independent coverage agents bonuses in improver to regular committees if they brought new clients to AultCare and William McKinley Life. Confidentiality understandings required agents to maintain the payments secret, even from their clients. Clemency also postulates the not-for-profit Foundation illegally utilizes its tax-exempt resources to subsidise for-profit McKinley Life, resulting in a greater share of the local coverage marketplace and more than patients for Aultman Hospital. If those patterns persist, Mercy's marketplace share and patient referrals will go on to erode, said Seth Thomas E. Cecconi, Clemency president and main executive director officer. "We have got a criterion of behavior we seek to accede to that is above trying to put our ain rulebook," Cecconi said. In an 88-page response filed Thursday in Stark County Park Pleas Court, Aultman admits paying brokers, but states it was legal, just and similar to the patterns of other coverage companies. In 2006, the Buckeye State Department of Insurance sent Aultman a missive saying its probe into agent compensation issues was closed. "They're not bribes," Aultman lawyer Brian Zimmerman said of the payments. Not so fast, said Mercy's attorneys. The state's decisions are not binding in this case, and the missive doesn't state what the probe found, what the issues were, what information Aultman provided to the state and what it didn't."We dispute Aultman to make full revelation of its concern patterns and Clemency is willing and able to do the same," Plakas said. CHANGING INDUSTRY Aultman started paying the bonuses in 1997. At the time, local infirmaries were being purchased by outside companies or joining big chains. For-profit Columbia/HCA Healthcare acquired Clemency and tried to purchase Massillon City Hospital. Another company bought Doctors Hospital. Aultman wanted to remain independent, said Erectile Dysfunction Roth, Aultman Health Foundation president and main executive director officer. It also took short letter of the Bill Clinton Administration's accent on regional systems in its proposal for national wellness care. So, Aultman formed a web of country hospitals. It built outpatient centres and a new business office building. And it started to secretly give bonuses to certain coverage brokers, whose occupation it is to fit country employers with wellness plans. Over 11 years, agents were paid $8.9 million, Zimmerman said. Clemency claims the figure of coverage enrollees skyrocketed. Aultman states fewer than 70,000 medical program clients came through agents who received bonuses. The full medical program have 228,000 enrollees, said AultCare spokeswoman Robin Clark. The bonuses are still being paid, but since 2007 Aultman have disclosed all committees and bonuses, Philip Roth said. He defended Aultman's corporate construction in which the not-for-profit Foundation pools and disburses money for its subsidiaries. Vertical integrating maintains costs low, allowing Aultman to carry through its charitable missionary post of providing medical care, he said. "We desire to turn to go on to ran into our missionary post in the community," he said. At times, the Foundation supplies modesty finances for William McKinley Life. The modesty would cover clients if the coverage company went under. Last year, Plakas contends, the Foundation provided $16 million to William McKinley Life, which had a nett underwriting loss of more than than $20 million. Aultman Head Financial Military Officer Mark Willard Huntington Wright said 2007 was a hard year, and the Buckeye State Department of Insurance endorses the Foundation's support of the for-profit insurance company, which runs to interrupt even. Both encampments have got talked about resolving the case, but inside information of those treatments stay confidential. This is not the first clip Aultman have been sued over the secret payments. In 2003, Professional Claims Management filed a lawsuit but the lawsuit ended with Aultman purchasing PCM on the Eve of the trial. A similar lawsuit brought by Hometown Health Plan in 2006 is pending in Tuscarawas County. Range Depository author Shane William Hoover at (330) 580-8338 or e-mail .˔