CEO gives up chairman post

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Tuesday, April 8, 2003 | 11:27 a.m.

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. -- Tenet Healthcare Corp., the second-biggest U.S. hospital company, today said Jeffrey Barbakow will step down as chairman as the company faces a series of government probes.

Barbakow will remain chief executive officer, said Tenet, owner of Lake Mead Hospital in North Las Vegas.

Some Tenet shareholders are pushing for more independence on the board of the company, which faces a federal audit of the payments it received for treating Medicare patients as well as shareholder lawsuits.

A Tenet shareholders committee says the company may face $6 billion in liability over payments from Medicare for the expensive patients, called outliers.