TeamHealth
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Healthcare |
| Founded | 1979 |
| Founder | Lynn Massingale |
| Headquarters | Knoxville , United States |
Area served | United States |
Key people | Leif M. Murphy (CEO and president), Lynn Massingale (chairman), Jody Crane (chief medical officer) |
| Products | Physician staffing services across multiple specialties including emergency medicine, hospital medicine, anesthesiology, critical care, obstetrics, orthopedic surgery, general surgery, ambulatory care, post-acute care, medical call centers |
Number of employees | 18,000+ (2015) |
Team Health Holdings, Inc., operating under the brand name TeamHealth, is a physician practice organization established in 1979 and based in Knoxville, Tennessee. Initially focused on providing emergency department staffing services, the company has since broadened its scope to include physician staffing across multiple specialties such as emergency medicine, hospital medicine, anesthesiology, critical care, obstetrics, orthopedic surgery, general surgery, ambulatory care, post-acute care, and medical call centers. TeamHealth currently supports approximately 2,900 acute and post-acute care facilities throughout the United States. After a series of acquisitions during the 2010s, it has become the leading provider in the U.S. physician outsourcing market. Its associated partner entities include D&Y Locum Tenens, Spectrum Healthcare Resources, and AccessNurse.
History
Founded in Knoxville in 1979 by Dr. Lynn Massingale, TeamHealth began as Southeastern Emergency Physicians when Dr. Massingale secured the emergency department staffing contract at the University of Tennessee Medical Center. In 1981, Dr. Randal Dabbs joined as a full partner. Two years later, in 1983, co-founder Dr. John Staley created Emergency Coverage Corporation; these two companies merged in 1986. Additional founding members included physicians Gar LaSalle, James Rybak, and Jim George.
During the 1990s, MedPartners acquired the firm and expanded its revenue to exceed $700 million before selling it to private equity firm Madison Dearborn Partners for $335 million in 1999 while maintaining a minority interest.
By 2015, TeamHealth employed over 18,000 healthcare professionals and managed nearly 10 million emergency department visits annually. Leif M. Murphy assumed the roles of CEO and president in 2016.
TeamHealth’s clinical recovery teams have played critical roles supporting hospitals during major emergencies such as Hurricane Harvey in Houston, Hurricane Irma across Florida, the 2017 Las Vegas shooting incident, California’s Atlas Peak wildfire, and Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico—providing essential assistance to overwhelmed healthcare facilities nationwide.
In 2019, TeamHealth was identified as a financial supporter of the political action committee "Doctor Patient Unity," which invested more than $28 million opposing legislation aimed at eliminating out-of-network "surprise medical bills." CEO Leif Murphy reiterated TeamHealth’s commitment against balance billing patients and endorsed federal legislation promoting independent dispute resolution between insurers and providers.
Murphy publicly endorsed the No Surprises Act in December 2020, highlighting the importance of equitable insurer reimbursements for emergency care without involving patients in billing conflicts.
In August 2019, Moody's downgraded TeamHealth’s bond rating due to ongoing disputes with United Healthcare—the company’s largest payer—which accused TeamHealth of excessive billing practices and announced plans to terminate most in-network contracts with TeamHealth between late 2019 and mid-2020 while also reducing out-of-network reimbursement rates.
A Nevada court permitted TeamHealth’s lawsuit against United Healthcare for alleged contract violations and underpayments to advance in June 2020.
In August 2019, a Qui Tam lawsuit alleging widespread billing fraud was filed against TeamHealth; after investigation, the government chose not to intervene and the matter was resolved through settlement without any admission of liability.
Following a November 2019 NPR report revealing that TeamHealth had pursued legal action against low-income patients over unpaid bills, CEO Murphy announced an end to this practice along with implementation of a discount program offering reductions of up to 90–100% for eligible individuals.
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, TeamHealth clinicians have served on the front lines nationwide. An April 2020 photograph depicting two married nurse anesthetists employed by TeamHealth wearing full PPE at Tampa General Hospital gained significant media attention. The organization enacted safety measures and deployed clinical staff to outbreak hotspots such as El Paso during surges.
TeamHealth affiliates have initiated legal actions against insurers including Centene to recover underpayments for emergency services. In July 2020, an Arkansas jury awarded $9.4 million to a TeamHealth affiliate after determining that Centene had under-reimbursed emergency room claims.
In June 2021, a Texas jury granted $19.1 million to TeamHealth physicians following a verdict that Molina Healthcare engaged in unfair practices by denying payment to frontline emergency medical providers.
Litigation involving UnitedHealthcare
In October 2021, TeamHealth filed a lawsuit against UnitedHealthcare in Nevada’s 8th District Court, accusing the insurer of underpaying claims by as much as $10.5 million for emergency department services rendered by three Nevada-based affiliates.
TeamHealth alleged that UnitedHealthcare orchestrated this underpayment strategy at the expense of frontline medical providers during the pandemic. The insurer reportedly obtained higher processing fees for claims than the compensation paid to emergency care clinicians. The company highlighted the threat this practice poses to the quality of emergency medical services during critical times.
Following testimony and deliberations on November 29, 2021, a Clark County jury unanimously sided with TeamHealth, concluding that UnitedHealthcare engaged in unfair reimbursement practices by intentionally shortchanging emergency room physicians. The jury awarded $2.65 million in compensatory damages and an additional $60 million in punitive damages, citing evidence of "oppression, fraud, and malice."
Leif Murphy, TeamHealth’s President & CEO, announced intentions to initiate nine further lawsuits grounded in similar allegations across New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Florida, Oklahoma, and Texas. One notable instance involved UnitedHealthcare reimbursing only $254 for a gunshot wound treatment that was billed at $1,428, despite testimony confirming the charge was justified.
Before the trial commenced, UnitedHealthcare filed a separate suit in Tennessee accusing TeamHealth of fraudulent upcoding amounting to $100 million. Courts in several states have dismissed these allegations. TeamHealth characterized United’s legal action as an attempt to distract from the Nevada case.
Documents made public revealed that UnitedHealthcare supplied anonymized data for Yale economist Zack Cooper’s 2016 research on surprise medical billing and also influenced editorial aspects of the study. Funding was also provided by the National Institute for Health Care Management. This research has been extensively referenced by media outlets and lawmakers and played a role in shaping the Biden administration’s “No Surprises Act,” which sets payment guidelines for out-of-network providers.
Although UnitedHealthcare’s involvement raised questions about the study’s neutrality, subsequent independent analyses using data from other insurers have confirmed its conclusions.
Leadership
Leif M. Murphy has held the roles of CEO and president since 2016. Dr. Jody Crane joined as chief medical officer in 2019. Co-founder Dr. Lynn Massingale continues to serve as chairman.
Awards and recognition
- Lynn Massingale, co-founder and chairman, was inducted into the Tennessee Health Care Hall of Fame in 2018.