Halifax Settles False Medicare Claims for $85M; Whistleblower to Get $20.8M
Florida-based Halifax Hospital Medical Center and Halifax Staffing Inc. (Halifax) have agreed to pay $85 million to settle allegations that the companies knowingly submitted or caused the submission of false claims to Medicare, in violation of the False Claims Act, the U.S. Department of Justice announced today. Halifax allegedly also violated the Stark Law.
The Stark Law forbids a hospital from billing Medicare for certain services referred by physicians who have a financial relationship with the hospital. In this case, the government alleged that Halifax knowingly violated the Stark Law by executing contracts with six medical oncologists that provided an incentive bonus that improperly included the value of prescription drugs and tests that the oncologists ordered and Halifax billed to Medicare. The government also alleged that Halifax knowingly violated the Stark Law by paying three neurosurgeons more than the fair market value of their work.
As part of the settlement announced today, Halifax also has agreed to enter into a Corporate Integrity Agreement with the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), which obligates Halifax to undertake substantial internal compliance reforms and to submit its federal health care program claims to independent review for the next five years.
The allegations were originally made in a lawsuit filed by Elin Baklid-Kunz, a former employee of Halifax, under the whistleblower provision of the False Claims Act. The Act allows private parties with knowledge of fraud against the government to sue on behalf of the government and share in the recovery. Baklid-Kunz will receive $20.8 million.
The Chanler Group, in association with the Hirst Law Group, represents whistleblowers who take action under the False Claims Act to report fraud committed against the federal and state governments. We have years of experience representing whistleblower clients who expose every kind of fraud against the government, including health care fraud, contract fraud, and tax fraud. Read more about our expertise in False Claims Act cases and how you can take action.