An Inclusive Litany

11/4/96

The following expenditures were submitted to the federal Medicare program for partial reimbursement by administrators at three Philadelphia hospitals. The list appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer, and comes from a series of audit reports, completed in 1994 by the Department of Health and Human Services, of 21 randomly selected hospitals throughout the country. The report found $50 million in expenditures that "were not related to patient care" and thus had been improperly charged to Medicare.
Thomas Jefferson University Hospital
  • $46,354 for the president's housing allowance
  • $45,441 for a corporate triathalon
  • $27,209 for executive automobile allowances
  • $23,584 for local meals and luncheons
  • $14,743 for renovation of a physician's office
  • $10,082 for insurance on fine art and the former president's automobile
  • $1,061 for plant rentals for a cocktail reception
  • $602 for seventy small desk clocks
  • $466 for twenty-four 10-karat-gold-filled pen and pencil sets
Medical College of Pennsylvania
  • $10,215 for clocks, watches, bowls, and other gifts for employees and friends of the hospital
  • $7,230 for paperweights given to employees and friends of the hospital on Founder's Day
  • $4,697 for sponsorship of a bike race
  • $3,613 for retreats at a local hotel
  • $2,588 for flowers and fruit baskets for employees and friends of the hospital
  • $2,433 for a trip to Italy to inspect a sculpture
  • $1,581 for an employee holiday party
  • $for a golf and tennis outing
  • $798 for coffee service at holiday and Secretary's Day luncheons
Moss Rehabilitation Hospital
  • $3,524 for holiday gifts to physicians
  • $2,386 for entertainment and cocktails at an open house
  • $1,833 for gifts to physicians who had referred patients to Moss
  • $325 for imprinted mugs and sunglasses
  • $263 for musical statues
  • $140 for an executive to have his car washed
  • $67 for the vice president's lunch on a Saturday when he worked