Skip to main content
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Current News
    • Providers
    • Insurance
    • Government
    • Finance
    • Technology
    • Safety & Quality
    • Digital Health
    • Transformation
    • ESG
    • People
    • Regional News
    • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Patients
    • Operations
    • Care Delivery
    • Payment
    • Midwest
    • Northeast
    • South
    • West
  • Blogs
    • AI
    • Deals
    • Layoff Tracker
    • HIMSS 2023
  • Opinion
    • Breaking Bias
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • From the Editor
  • Events & Awards
    • Awards
    • Conferences
    • Galas
    • Virtual Briefings
    • Webinars
    • Nominate/Eligibility
    • 100 Most Influential People
    • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
    • 40 Under 40
    • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
    • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
    • Top Innovators
    • Diversity in Healthcare
      • - Luminaries
      • - Top 25 Diversity Leaders
      • - Leaders to Watch
    • Women Leaders
    • Digital Health Transformation Summit
    • Leadership Symposium
    • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
    • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
    • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
    • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
    • Top 25 Diversity Leaders Gala
    • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
    • - Looking Ahead to 2024
    • - AI and Digital Health
    • - Hospital of the Future (Fall)
  • Multimedia
    • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
    • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
    • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
    • Sponsored Video Series - Checking In with Dan Peres
  • Data & Insights
    • Data & Insights Home
    • Hospital Financials
    • Staffing & Compensation
    • Quality & Safety
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Data Archive
    • Resource Guide: By the Numbers
    • Surveys
    • Data Points
  • Newsletters
  • MORE+
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Media Kit
    • Jobs
    • People on the Move
    • Reprints & Licensing
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. People
April 04, 2013 12:00 AM

Reno system execs exit in wake of antitrust probe, lawsuit

Joe Carlson
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    AP PHOTO
    The FTC said the two acquisitions gave Renown control over 88% of the market for lucrative heart-care services.

    The CEO and three other executives resigned from the largest healthcare provider in Reno, Nev., after an internal investigation of a physician-practice acquisition that drew a lawsuit and a federal antitrust investigation.

    Renown Health President and CEO Jim Miller was replaced by interim CEO Donald Sibery. Board Chairman David Line was temporarily appointed president of the system. The other executives who resigned are General Counsel Kelly Testolin, Vice President Andy Pearl and Business Development Administrator Phil Schweber.

    Renown's board of directors said in a series of statements and news releases that senior management did not give board members enough information leading up to the 2010 acquisition of Sierra Nevada Cardiology Associates.

    “There is no question that things did not go as planned, and for that, the board is sincerely sorry,” Line says in a video statement on the health system's website devoted to the Sierra Nevada Cardiology Associates controversy.

    Not long after Renown acquired the 15-doctor cardiology practice in late 2010, the group's physicians filed a lawsuit in state court alleging that they were owed more compensation than system officials said they agreed to. A subsequent investigation by an independent law firm hired by the board found the root of the litigation was the failure to attach a negotiated compensation schedule to the original contract, which allowed the differing opinions to exist.

    Renown acknowledged in a news release that the health system's lawyers overlooked the omission of the compensation sheets when the deal was signed. The system ultimately settled the lawsuit, paying the physicians $333,000 apiece and bringing their average compensation over two years to $1.4 million each, Renown said. That sum includes one-time payments of $240,000 for each physician's ownership interest in the practice.

    Separately, the health system last year was embroiled in an antitrust investigation that turned into the Federal Trade Commission's first-ever antitrust complaint against a hospital acquiring a physician group. The investigation was triggered when Renown in March 2011 purchased the other major cardiology group in the region, the 16-doctor Reno Heart Physicians.

    The FTC said the two acquisitions gave Renown control over 88% of the market for lucrative heart-care services. To resolve the matter, Renown agreed last August to temporarily release its cardiologists from noncompete contracts, until up to 10 cardiologists left to go work for competing healthcare providers.

    By December, eight physicians had notified the system of their intentions to move to competitors, while two planned to move into private practice. Renown did not admit wrongdoing in the settlement, though the FTC said it allowed doctors to re-establish a competitive market for cardiac services in the Reno area.

    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Send us a letter

    Have an opinion about this story? Click here to submit a Letter to the Editor, and we may publish it in print.

    Recommended for You
    Brendan Carr
    Mount Sinai Health System names next CEO
    Eugene Woods, Advocate Health
    How Advocate's Gene Woods is tackling health equity, staffing
    Most Popular
    1
    Cigna Medicare Advantage future murky amid sale speculation
    2
    Cigna, Humana in talks for merger this year: WSJ
    3
    Teladoc CEO tamps down expectations of GLP-1s
    4
    BJC, Saint Luke's of Kansas City merger to close soon
    5
    Community Health Systems seeks growth through acquisitions
    Sponsored Content
    People on the Move Newsletter: Sign up to receive a bi-monthly, sponsored content newsletter announcing new hires, promotions, and special accomplishments in the healthcare industry.
    Get Newsletters

    Sign up for enewsletters and alerts to receive breaking news and in-depth coverage of healthcare events and trends, as they happen, right to your inbox.

    Subscribe Today
    MH Magazine Cover

    MH magazine offers content that sheds light on healthcare leaders’ complex choices and touch points—from strategy, governance, leadership development and finance to operations, clinical care, and marketing.

    Subscribe
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS

    Our Mission

    Modern Healthcare empowers industry leaders to succeed by providing unbiased reporting of the news, insights, analysis and data.

    Contact Us

    (877) 812-1581

    Email us

     

    Resources
    • Contact Us
    • Help Center
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Editorial Dept
    • Submission Guidelines
    • Code of Ethics
    • Awards
    • About Us
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Modern Healthcare
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Current News
      • Providers
      • Insurance
      • Government
      • Finance
      • Technology
      • Safety & Quality
      • Digital Health
      • Transformation
        • Patients
        • Operations
        • Care Delivery
        • Payment
      • ESG
      • People
      • Regional News
        • Midwest
        • Northeast
        • South
        • West
      • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Blogs
      • AI
      • Deals
      • Layoff Tracker
      • HIMSS 2023
    • Opinion
      • Breaking Bias
      • Commentaries
      • Letters
      • From the Editor
    • Events & Awards
      • Awards
        • Nominate/Eligibility
        • 100 Most Influential People
        • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
        • 40 Under 40
        • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
        • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
        • Top Innovators
        • Diversity in Healthcare
          • - Luminaries
          • - Top 25 Diversity Leaders
          • - Leaders to Watch
        • Women Leaders
      • Conferences
        • Digital Health Transformation Summit
        • Leadership Symposium
        • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
        • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
      • Galas
        • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
        • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
        • Top 25 Diversity Leaders Gala
        • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
      • Virtual Briefings
        • - Looking Ahead to 2024
        • - AI and Digital Health
        • - Hospital of the Future (Fall)
      • Webinars
    • Multimedia
      • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
      • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
      • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
      • Sponsored Video Series - Checking In with Dan Peres
    • Data & Insights
      • Data & Insights Home
      • Hospital Financials
      • Staffing & Compensation
      • Quality & Safety
      • Mergers & Acquisitions
      • Data Archive
      • Resource Guide: By the Numbers
      • Surveys
      • Data Points
    • Newsletters
    • MORE+
      • Contact Us
      • Advertise
      • Media Kit
      • Jobs
      • People on the Move
      • Reprints & Licensing