St. Peter’s agrees to pay $10.8 million to settle federal investigation

HELENA — The U.S. Department of Justice and St. Peter’s Health have reached a $10.8 million settlement over charges that the hospital submitted false claims to federal health programs related to the care provided by its former doctor.

Thomas Weiner, an oncologist who worked at St. Peter’s Cancer Treatment Center, now called Cancer Care Services, was fired in 2020 after the hospital received numerous allegations about his conduct. 

Some of those allegations included a failure to accurately document the level of service used to bill federal health programs. St. Peter’s then voluntarily disclosed the alleged misconduct to federal authorities. 

According to the Department of Justice, Weiner used his position to “order medically unnecessary treatment, such as chemotherapy and other infusions, blood tests, imaging, and office visits” and “upcoded” claims between Jan. 1, 2015, and Dec. 31, 2020, that indicated a higher level of service than was actually performed. U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said at a press conference Tuesday that since Weiner was an employee of St. Peters Health, the hospital is responsible for the false claims. 

Laslovich said that most of the settlement — $9.98 million — is restitution owed by the hospital to the federal programs that paid the false claims, predominately Medicaid and Medicare. The remaining sum will be paid to the government.

“It’s a significant settlement and it’s a large amount of money, and that’s not lost on any of us,” Laslovich said. “But it’s reflective of the extent of the conduct we have alleged occurred here. ”

The Department of Justice filed a civil complaint in U.S. District Court against Weiner on Monday alleging he committed health care fraud. Because the lawsuit is ongoing, Laslovich said he couldn’t comment further. 

In a written statement to Montana Free Press, Weiner’s lawyer challenged the allegations made against his client.

“Dr. Weiner denied all wrongdoing and asserts that these proceedings are the result of ongoing employment litigation with St. Peter’s Hospital,” Deanne McClung wrote in an email. “We are confident that when the evidence is presented, Dr. Weiner will be exonerated.”

The U.S. attorney commended St. Peter’s for its initial disclosure and cooperation during the investigation. He said he understands how the issue divided the Helena community.   

“It’s a community that my wife and I call home. Both of our kids were born at St. Peter’s Health. All four of us have received care at St. Peter’s Health,” Laslovich said. “Today’s settlement, in my view, is not an indictment on the quality of care being provided by St. Peter’s Health as well as their doctors and their providers.”

St. Peter’s Health CEO Wade Johnson spoke at a separate press conference later Tuesday and acknowledged the hospital’s accountability and said that the misconduct was an isolated issue traced to Weiner’s actions. 

“I want you to know that we will continue to invest in our people and community as we have been doing over the last several years,” Johnson said. “We will also continue to manage our finances conservatively and closely monitor our financial performance to ensure our long-term sustainability.”

The hospital has 30 days from Monday, Aug. 26, to pay the settlement, which is about 7% of its reserves, according to Johnson. He said that St. Peter’s had been budgeting since 2020 to pay the money back so the settlement wouldn’t impact its operational funds.    

In 2020, Weiner filed a lawsuit against St. Peter’s Health alleging wrongful termination. A district court judge last year ruled in favor of the hospital and dismissed the case, although an appeal of that decision is pending before the Montana Supreme Court. 

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