Psychiatric Solutions, Inc. was an operator of psychiatric facilities in the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
.
Joey Jacobs and Bryce DeHaven, former executives of
Hospital Corporation of America
HCA Healthcare, Inc. (historically known as Hospital Corporation of America) is an American for-profit operator of health care facilities that was founded in 1968. It is based in Nashville, Tennessee, and, as of May 2020, owned and operated 186 ...
for over 20 years, founded Psychiatric Solutions, Inc. in 1997. On May 17, 2010 Psychiatric Solutions was purchased by
Universal Health Services
Universal Health Services, Inc. (UHS) is an American Fortune 300 company that provides hospital and healthcare services, based in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania , King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. In 2024, UHS reported total revenues of $15.8b.
C ...
.
Legal issues
In 2008, ''
ProPublica
ProPublica (), legally Pro Publica, Inc., is a nonprofit investigative journalism organization based in New York City. ProPublica's investigations are conducted by its staff of full-time reporters, and the resulting stories are distributed to ne ...
'', in collaboration with the ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'' and other news organizations, reported on substandard care, inadequate training, and staffing shortfalls at Psychiatric Solutions, resulting in injuries, sexual assault, and deaths, in a number of their facilities, nationwide.
During the investigation, it was discovered that the company was earning nearly two-thirds of its revenue from
Medicare and
Medicaid
Medicaid is a government program in the United States that provides health insurance for adults and children with limited income and resources. The program is partially funded and primarily managed by U.S. state, state governments, which also h ...
, maintaining a profit margin of 25%, compared to an average of 6% in other facilities, and employed one-third fewer staffers per bed resulting in higher profits for the organization. The company was fined multiple times for safety violations, and at one facility, the federal government took the unusual step of termination from the Medicare program, and withholding federal funds from one facility, for a period of over four months, costing the organization at least $1.5 million in lost revenue.
After the CEO, Joey Jacobs, replaced a management team at one facility, saying it would "continue to get better," the problems continued.
In March 2010, ''
Business Wire
Business Wire is an American company that disseminates full-text press releases from thousands of companies and organizations worldwide to news media, financial markets, disclosure systems, investors, information web sites, databases, bloggers, ...
'' reported that Psychiatric Solutions was being investigated for breach of fiduciary duty, lying to investors about safety issues at its facilities, and other violations of state laws.
Allegations that the director and other company officials made material misstatements and omissions about the company finances and liabilities, in order to inflate stock prices, caused its stock prices to drop, resulting in large losses for shareholders.
As more reports were published about the problems at the company, the
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a United States federal executive departments, federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of Law of the Unite ...
(DOJ) began investigations into the healthcare company, and a class action lawsuit was filed alleging shareholder fraud.
The company was eventually purchased by
Universal Health Services
Universal Health Services, Inc. (UHS) is an American Fortune 300 company that provides hospital and healthcare services, based in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania , King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. In 2024, UHS reported total revenues of $15.8b.
C ...
, who also paid $132 million in a settlement with the DOJ and other state agencies, for violations of the
False Claims Act
False or falsehood may refer to:
* False (logic), the negation of truth in classical logic
* Lie or falsehood, a type of deception in the form of an untruthful statement
* False statement, aka a falsehood, falsity, misstatement or untruth, is a st ...
.
Further reading
* "''Patience ... Patients: How Universal Health Systems became the top inpatient psychiatric services provider , Psychiatry & Behavioral Health Learning Network''"
References
External links
PSI Homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Psychiatric Solutions
Psychiatric hospitals in the United States
Hospital networks in the United States
Companies based in Franklin, Tennessee
1997 establishments in Tennessee
Companies established in 1997
Medical and health organizations based in Tennessee