FEDS SAY HOSPITAL MUST FIRE SPRENGER

A Fargo doctor found guilty in April 2000 of growing and regularly
smoking marijuana will no longer be employed by MeritCare starting
next week.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has deemed Dr. Craig
Sprenger ineligible to participate in federal health care programs for
five years.

Sprenger, an internal medicine doctor at MeritCare since 1995, cannot
work with Medicare, Medicaid or any other federal health care program
as of Nov. 20, according to a letter received Nov. 5 by the North
Dakota Department of Human Services.

The department processes in-state claims made to Medicaid, a
low-income health care program mainly funded with federal money.

Because of the federal-level decision, no hospital can employ the
40-year-old Sprenger for five years, said hospital spokeswoman Carrie
Johnson.

"While this decision saddens MeritCare, it prevents us from employing
Dr. Sprenger," reads a hospital press release issued to The Forum.

"This is the only statement that will be made by MeritCare, Dr.
Sprenger and his attorney."

Johnson said Sprenger's patients would be notified of his departure
through phone calls and letters.

Sprenger was at work Monday, according to a receptionist in the
hospital's department of internal medicine.

Reinstatement of Sprenger's eligibility in federal health care
programs following the five-year suspension is not assured, reads the
letter sent to the state. He can only be reinstated by the federal
Office of Inspector General.

MeritCare and Sprenger were notified of the decision early last week,
Johnson said.

The doctor was charged in 1999 with manufacturing and possessing
marijuana, and possessing drug paraphernalia after police broke into
his south Fargo home and confiscated 82 marijuana plants hidden in a
basement crawl space.

Sprenger first pleaded not guilty to the charges, but later changed
his plea to guilty.

He could have faced a 16-year prison sentence for the crimes, two of
which are felonies.

Instead, in April 2000, he received 18 months supervised probation,
200 hours of community work and had to pay fines totaling $3,500.

East Central District Court Judge Frank Racek's sentence was deferred
for 18 months, meaning Sprenger's record was recently cleared.

Racek received more than 75 letters from fellow doctors and Sprenger's
patients testifying to the doctor's strong work ethic and outstanding
reputation.

Following the court case, Sprenger faced another trial of sorts from
his peers in the medical profession, who had to decide if the doctor
should be allowed to keep his medical license.

The North Dakota Board of Medical Examiners voted to suspend
Sprenger's license for six months, despite a recommendation from an
administrative law judge that the doctor's license should be suspended
for a year because of the felony convictions. The suspension took
effect last December.

Sprenger, who had not worked at MeritCare since being arrested in June
1999, returned to work this June.