WALLA WALLA — A former Walla Walla physician, Jason A. Dreyer, has agreed to pay $1.17 million to resolve allegations that he performed medically unnecessary neurosurgery procedures while employed by Multicare Health Systems in Spokane, according to a U.S. Department of Justice news release.

Dreyer was employed as a neurosurgeon at Providence St. Mary Medical Center, Walla Walla, from 2013 to 2018 and was one of two physicians formerly accused of performing medically unnecessary neurosurgery procedures on Walla Walla patients. The other physician was Daniel Elskens.

“Ensuring that surgical procedures are medically appropriate and properly performed is critical to building safe and strong communities here in the Eastern District of Washington,” Vanessa Waldref, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, said in a news release Monday, April 24. “Patients with spinal injuries and back pain deserve top-notch care from a doctor who puts patients and their safety first.”

In April 2022, Providence St. Mary Medical Center agreed to pay $22,690,458 — the biggest health care settlement in the history of Eastern Washington — to resolve allegations that it fraudulently billed Medicare, Medicaid and other federal health care programs for operations performed by Dreyer and Elskens.

Dreyer resigned from Providence St. Mary Medical Center and was then employed by Multicare Health Systems at two hospitals in Spokane from 2019 to 2021. The news release said Multicare, much like Providence St. Mary, paid Dreyer based on a productivity metric where he made more for performing more surgeries and for surgical procedures of greater complexity.

According to the news release, the settlement resolved allegations that Dreyer caused the unnecessary procedure to be billed to Medicare, Medicaid and other federal health programs. Dreyer will pay $1,174,849.

As part of the settlement, Dreyer entered into an exclusion agreement with the U.S. Office of Inspector General. He agreed to be excluded from participating in Medicare, Medicaid and other federal health care programs nationwide for at least nine years before he can request reinstatement from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

“Providers have a responsibility to ensure that patient needs and safety, not illegitimate personal financial gain, drive medical decisions,” said Steven Ryan, special agent in charge at the Office of Inspector General. “As this settlement demonstrates, HHS-OIG is committed to protecting federal health care programs from fraudulent billing and ensuring that providers focus on providing medically necessary care.”

The settlement was the result of a joint investigation conducted by several agencies under the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington, the state of Washington, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office expressed special thanks and appreciation for the logistical support provided by the Walla Walla Police Department during the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dan Fruchter and Tyler H.L. Tornabene of the Eastern District of Washington handled the matter on behalf of the United States.