U.S. Joins Case to Enforce Law Against Kickbacks to Referring Doctors
The federal government has intervened in a False Claims Act lawsuit against Infirmary Health System Inc. and related entities IMC-Diagnostic and Medical Clinic (IMC), Diagnostic Physicians Group P.C. and Infirmary Medical Clinics (DPG), the Department of Justice announced this week.
The lawsuit alleges that IMC, in Mobile, Ala., billed Medicare for services referred by physicians belonging to DPG, in violation of the Stark Law and Anti-Kickback Statute.
The suit also alleges that IMC improperly paid DPG doctors out of funds obtained from Medicare for tests and procedures that those doctors referred to the clinic. These improper payments, and the resulting submission of false claims to the Medicare program, violated the Stark Law and Anti-Kickback Statute.
The Stark Law and the Anti-Kickback Statute are intended to ensure that physicians’ medical judgment is not compromised by improper financial incentives. The Stark Law forbids a clinic or hospital from billing Medicare for certain services referred by physicians who have a financial relationship with the entity, while the Anti-Kickback Statute prohibits offering, paying, soliciting or receiving remuneration to induce referrals of services or items covered by federal health care programs, including Medicare.
“The Stark Law and Anti-Kickback Statute were enacted to prevent financial ties from influencing the level of care provided to patients,” said Kenyen Brown, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Alabama. “By bringing cases such as this one against Infirmary Health System, we hope to ensure that precious health care resources are not wasted due to improper financial relationships among health care providers.”
The lawsuit was originally filed by Dr. Christian Heesch, a former physician with DPG, under the whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act. The False Claims Act allows private citizens with knowledge of fraud against the government to sue on behalf of the government and share in the recovery. The act also allows the government to intervene on its own behalf, which the U.S. government has elected to do in this case.
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.