SPOKANE, Wash — The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington announced Wednesday that Tacoma-based MultiCare Health System (MultiCare) will pay $3,728,000 to settle federal and state allegations it knowingly endangered patient safety and falsely and fraudulently billed Medicare, Medicaid, and other federal health care programs.
The allegations are over spinal surgeries performed at Deaconess between 2019 and 2021 by Dr. Jason Dreyer, formerly a licensed physician and MultiCare neurosurgeon.
The U.S. District Attorney’s Office says the settlement comes after more than two years of litigation from the U.S. and the State of Washington, and six years of federal and state investigations. The case began in April 2022, when a former patient of Dr. Dreyer’s at MultiCare, Dr. Deannette Palmer, filed a complaint under seal in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington…