A former CMS administrator vocalized his support of the former CEO of Charlottesville, Va.-based UVA Health in the wake of a recently filed defamation lawsuit, CBS 6 Richmond reported April 2.
In February, K. Craig Kent, MD, filed a defamation lawsuit against the lawyers who prepared a report on behalf of 30 physicians at his former workplace last year. Now, Tom Scully, who served as the administrator of CMS from 2001 to 2004 and is a former member of the UVA Health System’s governing board, says he resigned from the system in “outrage” shortly after Dr. Kent left, according to CBS 6 Richmond.
Here are five things to know about the case:
1. Dr. Kent’s lawsuit, filed Feb. 23 in the Circuit Court of Albemarle County, Va., against law firm Jones Swanson Huddell LLC and three attorneys, alleges a “defamatory campaign to oust him from his position as CEO.”
2. Dr. Kent is one of three former UVA Health leaders named as defendants in a lawsuit filed in October 2025. That lawsuit, filed by four UVA Health physicians and two widowed spouses, alleges a pattern of fraudulent practices and racketeering endangered patients and led to at least two preventable deaths. Dr. Kent has called the allegations against him “unfounded and baseless.”
3. Mr. Scully told the publication that he observed Dr. Kent for three years. “I think he got screwed beyond belief, pardon my French,” Mr. Scully said.
In his lawsuit, Dr. Kent claims he was hired to bring on drastic changes at a flagging health system. He cites improvements in quality and drops to system mortality rates as well as an operating revenue that nearly doubled as major achievements of his tenure.
Mr. Scully claims that while Dr. Kent “may not have been the greatest diplomat with the physicians,” which he acknowledges is a “fundamental problem,” he ultimately defends Dr. Kent. He goes as far as to question the validity of the lawyers’ case to CBS 6.
“A lot of it was completely made up and is unfounded,” Mr. Scully said. “And the accusations in there are 99 percent, as far as I can tell, and I think everybody else has looked at it, 99.9% contrived.”
4. The February lawsuit alleges three of the defendants shared a 26-page letter with the UVA board of visitors one day before the board was scheduled to discuss the results of an investigation into Dr. Kent and other leaders. According to the complaint, the letter made false accusations against Dr. Kent and was designed to appear as the results of an official, objective investigation, although the attorneys were not directed by UVA to prepare a report.
5. Dr. Kent further claims the letter was designed to create the false impression that it was prepared in collaboration with lawyers at a separate firm who were conducting the investigation, the complaint says. The complaint alleges the letter falsely accused Dr. Kent of compromising patient safety and engaging in serious leadership misconduct.
According to the complaint, the letter was followed by a warning that it would be sent to The Washington Post if Dr. Kent was not dismissed by 6 p.m. the day of the board meeting.
“Dr. Kent’s Complaint is quite thorough, and he is eager for the opportunity to clear his name,” Dr. Kent’s attorney, Paul Vickrey, said in a Feb. 27 statement shared with Becker’s.
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