Virginia Archives - Checks and Balances Project

2021-07-16

As Checks and Balances Project reported on the business practices of Sentara Healthcare, we sought comment from the company’s top spokesperson — Danya Bushey – more than 20 times, so we could get the company’s version of events. Bushey rarely responded. But in recent stories in the Washington Post and Virginian-Pilot, as well as a… Read more »

North Carolina Attorney General’s Office Cites C&BP Reporting In Derailed Sentara-Cone Health Merger

2021-06-22

“Your input was shared with the attorneys in our office who were in the midst of conducting a thorough review of this proposed affiliation.“ – North Carolina Attorney General’s office Last month, Checks & Balances Project (C&BP) asked the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to review the proposed, $11.5 billion merger between Sentara Healthcare and… Read more »

Did Sentara Healthcare Abuse Its IRS Tax-Exempt Status?

2021-06-10

Checks & Balances Project Files Complaint With IRS Asking for an Investigation Checks and Balances Project (C&BP) has filed a complaint with the IRS asking the agency to investigate and, depending on the findings that investigation, possibly remove Sentara Healthcare’s nonprofit, tax-exempt status. Here is the Memorandum in Support. C&BP has exposed Sentara’s unclear financial… Read more »

Sentara Called Off $11.5 Billion Cone Health Merger After Months Of Scrutiny

2021-06-3

An investigation by Checks & Balances Project exposed for regulators the company’s conflicts of interests, strong-arm tactics and potential overcharges of uninsured patients. Sentara Healthcare’s announcement Wednesday that it was no longer trying to merge with Cone Health of North Carolina follows a series of reports by Checks and Balances Project (C&BP) over the last… Read more »

Sentara’s Merger With Cone Health is Off

2021-06-2

24-hours Before Sentara Called Off the Merger, the $6 Billion Conglomerate Pledged $40 Million to Address “Health Disparities” Sentara Healthcare this morning called off its troubled $11.5 billion merger with Cone Health of North Carolina. According to statement on the Sentara website: “[W]e realized that each of our communities and key stakeholders require support and… Read more »

Sentara Hires Virginia Secretary of Finance Aubrey Layne as Chief of Staff to Defend Cone Merger

2021-06-2

(UPDATE: Sentara announced their merger with Cone Health was cancelled on June 2. The statement said the decision to not go forward was made by the Sentara and Cone boards late the previous week. Sentara announced Layne’s hiring on May 27. What role if any did Layne have in the decision to not go forward… Read more »

Has Sentara Hired DC Crisis Managers To Rescue Its Troubled Merger?

2021-05-28

Oppo research firm VR Research is tied to mega-firms SKDKnickerbocker and GMMB As it works to save its $11.5 billion merger with North Carolina’s Cone Health, Sentara Healthcare appears to have hired a politically connected Washington, DC, crisis management public relations firm. The evidence of such a move comes in the use of an opposition… Read more »

LOCAL VOICES: A Newport News Doctor Talks About Sentara and More

2021-05-28

In today’s Local Voices, we talk with Dr. James Tinsley of Lighthouse Direct Primary Care in Newport News, Virginia. Tinsley is certified with the American Board of Family Medicine and is fully licensed with the State of Virginia. He charges his patients $75 a month, doesn’t take insurance but suggest patients be covered with a… Read more »

LOCAL VOICES: A Conversation With James Sherlock

2021-05-26

Sherlock talks about tax-exempt, nonprofit Sentara Healthcare, its lock on the health care market and how he views the company and its practices.

Checks & Balances Project Seeks Virginia AG Investigation Of Sentara Charges For Uninsured Patient

2021-05-25

Checks and Balances Project (C&BP) has asked Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring to determine whether the apparent overcharging of an uninsured patient is an isolated incident or part of a larger pattern of overbilling by Sentara. A C&BP investigation using Sentara’s “Transparent Pricing Tool” reveals charges for medical services on a patient’s bill exceeded its… Read more »