New Tests for Tenet

Tenet Healthcare (THC Quote) could be feeling a little low on Christmas spirit right now.

Just this week, Louisiana's top prosecutor told CNN -- for the first time -- that allegations about possible mercy killings at a Tenet-owned hospital in New Orleans are "credible and worth investigating." Meanwhile, a San Diego judge opted to replace a disobedient juror rather than declare a mistrial in a kickback case against the company that has been dragging on for months. And finally, high-profile attorney Alan Dershowitz has asked the Supreme Court to consider a case involving a physician who claims that Tenet retaliated against him for exposing problems with patient care.

Dershowitz -- together with both the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons and the Association of Trial Lawyers in America -- is seeking a ruling that would protect medical whistleblowers in the future. ...