Following lawsuits, millions in fines & a data breach, 21st Century Oncology gets new CEO

FORT MYERS, Fla. – Cancer-care giant 21st Century Oncology appointed a new CEO on Friday, a move that comes after months of mishaps resulting in millions in fines and multiple lawsuits.

William R. Spalding, 58, will succeed company founder Dr. Daniel Dosoretz, who will continue his involvement with the Fort Myers company as a board member and full-time senior physician, 21st Century Oncology said in a statement.

The company did not say whether Dosoretz was forced out of his position.

Spalding’s previous positions include executive vice president, strategy and managed care, of CVS Caremark Corporation and executive vice president, strategic initiatives, of Caremark Rx, Inc. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Dartmouth College and Juris Doctor degree from Washington & Lee University School of Law.

The company also announced the reduction of its board from eight to six members, and that the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, a professional investment management organization, purchased an additional $25 million of preferred stock in the company.

Spaulding will lead the country’s largest provider of radiation therapy, which has been rocked with multiple troubles within the past year.

The cancer-care giant agreed to pay nearly $20 million in Dec. 2015 to settle federal allegations of billing Medicare and Tricare for expensive and unnecessary medical tests. Company doctors submitted claims for bladder cancer tests that could total over $30,000 in reimbursements per case, but court documents in a 2013 whistleblower suit allege these tests are rarely effective.

Three months later, the company agreed to pay nearly $35 million to the federal government to settle a dispute involving training protocols of certain staff in the utilization of a radiation dose calculation system.

Days after the second settlement was announced, the company said patient information was illegally obtained through a security breach into the company’s database. At least 2.2 million patients were affected.

The FBI notified 21st Century of the security breach in Dec. 2015, one month after investigators believe the intrusion occurred, but the company did not notify the Security and Exchange Commission until March 4, according to one of five class-action lawsuits filed about two weeks after the announcement.

21st Century Oncology operates 181 treatment centers, including 145 centers located in 17 states and 36 centers in seven Latin American countries.