Florida-based Health Management Associates currently faces false-claim lawsuits in five states – accusing them of admitting patients merely to charge Medicare and Medicaid more money.

The U.S. Department of Justice has recently joined those lawsuits which allege that the company placed pressure on doctors to admit patients to emergency rooms needlessly, resulting in inflated or false claims.

According to the Anniston Star, Alabama hospitals owned by Health Management Associates are not named in any of those lawsuits.  The company owns both Stringfellow Memorial Hospital in Anniston and Riverview Regional Medical Center in Gadsden.

The lawsuits were announced just as Community Health Systems received the go-ahead from the Federal Trade Commission to purchase Health Management Associates.

Community Health Systems announced last week that the FTC had approved the $7.6 billion buy – provided that CHS sells two hospitals to avoid monopolies, one of which is Riverview.

The purchase agreement is scheduled to be completed by the end of January (2014).

(Anniston Star/www.annistonstar.com)