Valor Healthcare defends itself over allegations of wrongdoing
Valor Healthcare Inc., the company that soon will add a Watertown location to a collection of 17 Veterans Affairs outpatient clinics it operates throughout the country, defended itself Monday against accusations of wrongdoing in both its clinic operations and the bidding process for its new contract.
The Syracuse Veterans Affairs Medical Center announced last week it would award a new contract for the Jefferson County outpatient clinic to Valor Healthcare beginning Feb. 15, prompting outcry by officials at Carthage Area Hospital, which has operated the clinic from Carthage since 2003.
Carthage hospital Administrator Walter S. Becker has pointed to news reports of problems at other Valor clinic locations and raised questions about whether the company received special treatment during the bidding process.
In September, a report from the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of the Inspector General cited numerous problems at two Valor clinics, including overbilling of the VA for patient care at a Monaca, Pa., facility and problems ranging from failures to guard patient privacy to inadequate medical equipment maintenance at a Valor clinic in Berwick, Pa.
The report found that of the 4,735 patients the Monaca facility reported as enrolled in its care in a December invoice to the Pittsburgh VA Healthcare System, 457 had received no services during the previous year, making them ineligible for payment according to the contract terms. A closer look at 25 of those reported patients by investigators found that nine were deceased, one since February 2007.
The report estimated the overcharges for that one-month period at about $15,000, and urged the Pittsburgh VA hospital to analyze bills from previous months "to determine the total scope of overcharges" attributable to the same problem.
Asked why the overcharges occurred and what steps Valor had taken to rectify the matter — such as repayment of the improper charges, and staffing changes or other measures to protect against future problems — Valor Healthcare spokeswoman Molly P. Cate said via e-mail Monday: "Like every medical provider who interacts with hundreds of thousands of patients, we know that unfavorable experiences do occur from time to time. We do, however, take issues like this seriously and respond to each one to ensure that our systems are running properly. In this particular situation, we did respond immediately to what the VA asked of us."
She provided no specifics on what action the company had taken. "Valor is in good standing with the Pittsburgh VA and any questions regarding this matter should be directed to them," she said
The Pittsburgh hospital did not return calls seeking comment Monday.
Richard G. Kazel, manager of medical and surgical services for the Syracuse VA Medical Center, said Monday that Valor was not barred by the VA Inspector General's Office from doing business with the VA as a result of the reported payment issues, and that disputes about billing and overcharges are par for the course when doing business with contractors.
"It's our responsibility to ensure that what we're paying for is actually what the veteran is receiving," he said. "Syracuse does a very thorough review of all invoices before we give payment and I expect nothing less of our involvement with Valor."
Mr. Becker also has raised questions about the bidding process to operate the Jefferson County clinic, charging that Valor ran help-wanted ads in the Times in July, before proposals were due. A check of Times advertising showed that Valor ran help-wanted ads beginning July 17.
Mr. Becker said the proposals for the clinic were due Aug. 8; Syracuse VA officials couldn't confirm that Monday, but Ms. Cate said the company did run ads before bids were due.
"Companies that bid on the contracts have to be able to demonstrate that they're able to hire staff in the area," she said by telephone Monday, adding that such advertisements are a normal part of the process of competing for contracts in a new location.
