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Contingencies | 3 Months Ended
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Mar. 31, 2021
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract] |
Contingencies | NOTE 9 — CONTINGENCIES We operate in a highly regulated and litigious industry. As a result, various lawsuits, claims and legal and regulatory proceedings have been and can be expected to be instituted or asserted against us. We are also subject to claims and suits arising in the ordinary course of business, including claims for personal injuries or wrongful restriction of, or interference with, physicians’ staff privileges. In certain of these actions the claimants may seek punitive damages against us which may not be covered by insurance. We are also subject to claims by various taxing authorities for additional taxes and related interest and penalties. The resolution of any such lawsuits, claims or legal and regulatory proceedings could have a material, adverse effect on our results of operations, financial position or liquidity. Health care companies are routinely subject to investigations by various governmental agencies. Under the federal False Claims Act (“FCA”), private parties have the right to bring qui tam , or “whistleblower,” suits against companies that submit false claims for payments to, or improperly retain overpayments from, the government. Some states have adopted similar state whistleblower and false claims provisions. Certain of our individual facilities have received, and from time to time, other facilities may receive, government inquiries from, and may be subject to investigation by, federal and state agencies. Depending on whether the underlying conduct in these or future inquiries or investigations could be considered systemic, their resolution could have a material, adverse effect on our results of operations, financial position or liquidity. Texas operates a state Medicaid program pursuant to a waiver from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services under Section 1115 of the Social Security Act (“Program”). The Program includes uncompensated-care pools; payments from these pools are intended to defray the uncompensated costs of services provided by our and other hospitals to Medicaid eligible or uninsured individuals. Separately, we and other hospitals provide charity care services in several communities in the state. In 2018, the Civil Division of the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas requested information about whether the Program, as operated in Harris County, complied with the laws and regulations applicable to provider related donations, and the Company cooperated with that request. On May 21, 2019, a qui tam lawsuit asserting violations of the FCA and the Texas Medicaid Fraud Prevention Act related to the Program, as operated in Harris County, was unsealed by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas. Both the federal and state governments declined to intervene in the qui tam lawsuit. The Company believes that our participation is and has been consistent with the requirements of the Program and is vigorously defending against the lawsuit being pursued by the relator. We cannot predict what effect, if any, the qui tam lawsuit could have on the Company.

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