The original lawsuit, filed by Mat-Su Regional, alleged that in 2006 Advanced Pain “knowingly misrepresented” the cost to convert office space in Wasilla, Alaska, into an ASC so that the company would not be required to obtain a certificate of need for the facility.
Alaska law requires that any new healthcare facility that costs more than $1.05 million to build obtain a CON. Advanced Pain estimated the cost of the Wasilla facility at $966,036, according to the report.
The suit also names the state as a defendant, alleging that the Department of Health “blindly” accepted Advanced Pain’s estimates without performing an independent analysis, according to the report.
In March 2008, a State Superior Court judge ruled in favor of Advanced Pain and the state, saying that the hospital could not challenge the ASC’s CON since one was not obtained. Further, the judge ruled that Mat-Su Regional missed the deadline to appeal any CON decisions and granted attorney’s fees to both the state and the pain group.
Last week, the state Supreme Court overturned the lower court’s ruling and remanded the case back to the Superior Court for further proceedings. The Supreme Court also ruled that neither the state nor Advanced Pain should have been granted attorney’s fees, according to the report.
Read the Anchorage Daily News’ report on the lawsuit against Advanced Pain Centers of Alaska.
