UnitedHealth Group, Tenet hit with anti-poaching suit
Kris Tripplaar/Sipa USA
A former director at an outpatient facility owned by UnitedHealth Group sued the healthcare giant in Chicago federal court on Tuesday, alleging the company engaged in an anti-poaching scheme with its competitors and agreed not to hire each other's senior employees.
The lawsuit, filed in the Northern District of Illinois, echoes the claims from an ongoing case brought by the government in January. In addition to naming UnitedHealth Group subsidiary Surgical Care Affiliates, the proposed class-action also targets Surgical Partners International, a Tenet Healthcare Corp. affiliate, and Andrew Hayek, the executive vice president and senior advisor to the CEO of Optum. The suit was brought by Allen Spradling, a former director of information technology at Surgical Care Affiliates.