A Greenville, South Carolina-based healthcare system has agreed to pay $36.5 million to resolve kickback allegations that it was tying payments to orthopedic surgeons to referral volume and/or value, according to the US Dept. of Justice.
St. Francis Physician Services, St. Francis Hospital and Bon Secours St. Francis Health System (collectively “St. Francis”), owner and operator of the St. Francis healthcare system, agreed to the payment to settle claims that it violated the False Claims Act, the Federal Stark Law, and the Federal Anti-Kickback Statute.
According to the Department of Justice, the settlement resolves allegations that “St. Francis caused the submission of false claims to Medicare and to TRICARE as a result of an unlawful contractual payment structure between St. Francis and Piedmont Orthopedic Associates (“POA”), whereby POA’s compensation was tied to the volume or value of the practice’s referrals to St. Francis.”
The original complaint alleged that the bonus payments paid by St. Francis violated the Federal Stark Law and the Federal Anti-Kickback Statute. Read more.
