Besieged Fort Myers cancer care giant files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy​

FORT MYERS, Fla. Amid multi-million dollar settlements, multiple class-action lawsuits, financial woes and two leadership changes, 21st Century Oncology filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Thursday.

21st Century, whose debts have totaled $1 billion, has agreed on a financial restructuring expected to reduce its debt by more than $500 million, including the addition of $75 million from investors, the company said in a statement.

“This is a positive development for 21st Century Oncology and our employees, healthcare partners and the patients who depend on our critical medical services,” said Paul Rundell, 21 Century’s Interim Chief Executive Officer, in a statement. “We are a fundamentally strong and profitable business; however, we simply have too much debt given the size of the business and the way industry dynamics, particularly the challenging reimbursement environment, have affected our ability to maximize revenue in the aftermath of these unprecedented, ongoing changes.”

Patients should not expect any changes in their treatment, the company said, adding that treatment facilities will remain open and patient schedules and doctors will not change.

The statement did not elude to the troubles that have besieged 21st Century within the past two years:

• 21st Century paid nearly $20 million in December 2015 to settle federal allegations of unnecessarily billing Medicare and Tricare for bladder cancer tests that could total over $30,000 in reimbursements per case.
• The company paid $34 million in March 2016 to settle a related whistle-blower lawsuit.
• Days later, the company told employees that the personal information of at least 2.2 million patients was obtained through a security breech into the company’s database.
• Following the breech, hundreds joined five class-action lawsuits filed against the company.
• Four Southwest Florida doctors who worked for 21st Century Oncology were fined millions for their involvement in the excessive medical tests, which centered around an ‘office pool’ for bonuses.
• The company defaulted on a $25 million interest payment in February.
• 21st Century’s CEO and CFO were replaced in March, the second leadership change in less than six months. A consulting firm took over the company’s operations.