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. The credits 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.