A group demanding Lower Keys Medical Center reverts to public ownership took out a full-page ad in a local paper calling on the state attorney to investigate LKMC over claims of fraudulent billing, FL Keys News reports.
LKMC, owned by Franklin, Tenn.-based Community Health Systems, came under fire earlier this year after patients reported experiencing poor quality service and aggressive billing practices.
In a full-page ad in a local Sunday newspaper, a group of patient advocates demanded Monroe County Attorney Catherine Vogel impanel a grand jury to investigate allegations against the hospital. The Committee to Rescue Our Hospital paid for the ad.
Key West City Commissioner Sam Kaufman lodged a similar request with the attorney general's office earlier this year.
"My office has been looking and examining information to see whether or not we can establish a state crime," Ms. Vogel told FL Keys News. "If and when we find something that can be criminal, we will take it to the grand jury."