In a settlement recently announced by the Department of Justice, Adventist Health System/West, d/b/a Adventist Health, and White Memorial Medical Center have agreed to pay the United States and the State of California $14.1 million to resolve allegations raised in a False Claims Act case. The whistleblowers who filed the lawsuit will receive $2,839,219 as their share of the recovery.
The claims in this case relate to alleged violations of the Anti-Kickback Act, which prohibits offering, paying, soliciting or receiving remuneration to induce referrals of items or services covered by Medicare, Medicaid and/or other federally-funded programs. These violations included claims that Adventist Health improperly compensated physicians who referred patients to the White Memorial facility. The government also alleged that the defendants violated the Stark Law, which forbids hospitals from submitting claims for patient referrals made by a physician with whom the hospital has an improper financial arrangement.
The Department of Justice continues to aggressively pursue False Claims Act lawsuits involving violations of the Anti-Kickback Statute and the Stark Law, which are intended to ensure that a physician’s medical judgment is not compromised by improper financial incentives and is instead based on the best interests of the patient.
For more information on this case, click here: http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2013/May/13-civ-507.html