Whistleblower lawsuit against Iasis Healthcare
alleging Medicare fraud will be pursued in appeals court

April 1, 2008 -- Phillips & Cohen LLP, the nation's most successful law firm representing whistleblowers, said today that it would continue to pursue the Medicare fraud case against Iasis Healthcare LLC despite a federal district court judge's decision to dismiss the case.

"We are confident that we will win this case on appeal," said Colette Matzzie, a Washington, DC, attorney with Phillips & Cohen.

The qui tam lawsuit against Iasis alleges that Iasis illegally compensated doctors to refer patients to Iasis hospitals and performed unnecessary medical services, including interventional cardiology procedures, to boost its profits.

Phillips & Cohen has brought successful "qui tam" (whistleblower) lawsuits against some of the nation's largest companies and healthcare providers, including HCA, which at the time was the largest for-profit healthcare provider in the U.S. Cases brought by the firm's attorneys have resulted in recoveries totaling more than $2 billion for the U.S. Treasury.

The whistleblower lawsuit against Iasis was filed in federal district court in Phoenix, AZ, by Jerre Frazier, a former vice president for ethics and compliance for Iasis who also served as chief compliance officer for Iasis and chairman of its corporate compliance committee.