Suspended CMS Medical Director Still on Payroll

BALTIMORE–CMS Medical Director Sean Tunis is still receiving a
paycheck from the federal government, months after he was suspended
for falsifying documents, the Washington Post reported Aug.
9.

Tunis, Medicare’s chief medical officer and director of the
Office of Clinical Standards and Quality, was placed on
administrative leave in April after the Maryland Board of
Physicians charged him with falsely claiming to have completed 50
credit hours of continuing medical education. CMEs are required to
maintain a medical license in the state.

In May, Tunis said that he attempted to reproduce lost records
of CME credits he had obtained legitimately, and agreed to a
one-year suspension of his medical license and a $20,000 fine for
submitting the altered documents. He also resigned from Mercy
Medical Center in Baltimore, where he worked part-time as an
emergency physician.

Tunis earns an annual salary of $107,000 to $162,000 and has
been receiving a yearly bonus, estimated at $30,000, the
Post reported.

Since Tunis’ departure, Barry Straube of CMS’ Region IX in San
Francisco has been serving as CMS’ acting chief medical
officer.