An official with the parent company of Champion Medical Center—which sought, unsuccessfully, earlier this year to develop an emergency room in north Baton Rouge—has been indicted by a federal grand jury along with 20 others in a massive kickback scheme in Texas.
Semyon Narosov, 51, of Dallas, was among those named in the indictment, which was unsealed Nov. 30 and outlines a four-year conspiracy, fueled by $40 million in kickbacks funneled through a number of shell companies—consulting firms, commercial real estate firms, business services organizations—into the pockets of high-powered surgeons in the Dallas-Forth Worth area.
The indictment does not mention Narosov’s specific role in the alleged scheme.
Narosov—who owns multiple health care businesses in Texas, according to the Texas Secretary of State’s website—is listed as a manager of Next Health, the parent company of Champion Medical Center. Earlier this year, Champion tried to pitch state officials on a plan to open a free-standing emergency room at the site of its existing health care facility at Howell Place in north Baton Rouge.
The plan was controversial at the time and would have required at least $6 million in capital funds from the state as well as an annual operating subsidy of at least $3 million. Gov. John Bel Edwards’ administration never entered into negotiations with Next Health and eventually struck a deal with Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center to open a new ER in north Baton Rouge.
Next Health is a for-profit health care company that operates Champion as well as a number of other specialty surgical hospitals and other medical facilities around the country. Neither Next Health nor Champion is mentioned in the indictment.
—Stephanie Riegel
