BALTIMORE (AP) - A whistleblower lawsuit accuses the Johns Hopkins Health System of prioritizing out-of-state patients over Maryland residents to increase revenue.
News outlets report a former supervisor in the patient appointments department, Anthony C. Campos, filed the lawsuit Wednesday, saying his department was directed to fill the appointment schedule with out-of-state patients.
Maryland hospitals are required to operate under state-assigned global budgets that limit revenue, to cut costs and improve care. Those budgets don't include revenue brought in from out-of-state patients.
The lawsuit says Hopkins is violating the budget agreement clause prohibiting hospitals from denying patients services for inappropriate financial reasons. The system also is required to provide care focusing on the community.
In a statement, the system said the complaint is without merit, and the majority of patients are from Maryland.
