Feds say MultiCare ignored surgeon’s ‘red flags.’ Health system to pay millions
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- MultiCare will pay $3.728 million to resolve federal and state fraud and safety claims.
- Investigators say MultiCare hired and supervised Dr. Dreyer despite repeated red flags.
- Government alleges fraudulent billing for spinal surgeries at Deaconess from 2019–2021.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Washington on Feb. 4 announced a settlement with Tacoma-based MultiCare Health System in a fraud case involving a former medical provider who treated patients in Spokane.
Federal officials said that the Feb. 4 settlement was part of six years of federal and state investigations involving Multicare, Dr. Jason Dreyer, formerly a licensed physician and MultiCare neurosurgeon, and Dreyer’s former employer, Providence Health & Services.
The Feb. 4 action follows earlier settlements with Dreyer for $1.1 million and a multimillion-dollar settlement with Providence.
MultiCare operates Deaconess Hospital and MultiCare Rockwood Clinic in Spokane.
MultiCare will pay the United States and the State of Washington $3.728 million to resolve federal and state allegations that it “knowingly endangered patient safety and falsely and fraudulently billed Medicare, Medicaid, and other federal health care programs for spinal surgery procedures performed at Deaconess between 2019 and 2021,” by Dreyer, according to the Feb. 4 release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The release stated that “the investigation and resulting litigation has shown that MultiCare hired, credentialed, and supervised Dr. Dreyer while MultiCare ignored and failed to take appropriate action on numerous red flags, warnings, and specific evidence of Dr. Dreyer’s fraud and endangerment of the public, all while increasing its own revenue with fraudulently obtained taxpayer money.”
Pete Serrano is first assistant U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Washington. In a statement, Serrano said, “As the voluminous court records of this case demonstrate, MultiCare had direct knowledge of the danger Dr. Dreyer posed to patients, including through reports made by its own medical staff, and later from explicit warnings from federal investigators.
“MultiCare nonetheless allowed Dr. Dreyer to operate on unsuspecting patients for nearly two years, generating thousands in additional revenue and putting profits before patient safety. MultiCare has been held accountable for its role in defrauding the taxpayers and endangering some of the most vulnerable members of our community.”
In a separate statement sent to The News Tribune, MultiCare said in a response, “The settlement resolves the allegations in the government’s complaint and does not involve any admission of liability or determination of wrongdoing.”
It added that its decision “to resolve this matter allows the organization to avoid the cost and uncertainty of continued litigation and focus its resources on its mission of providing high-quality care to patients.”
MultiCare CEO Bill Robertson said in a statement that the health system “is confident in the quality of care provided to our patients and the clinical decision-making of our providers.”
He added that MultiCare “vigorously litigated the government’s allegations for nearly two years. The record that developed during that process speaks for itself. We are pleased to have resolved this matter and remain focused on delivering high-quality care to the communities we serve.”
This story was originally published February 5, 2026 at 5:30 AM.
