These type of practices could fall under the Stark Anti Kickback Statute, and could result in a significant reward for the whistleblower, provided they have well documented proof
(PRWEB) November 06, 2014
The Corporate Whistleblower Center is urging medical doctors, hospital insiders, or large medical practice group insiders to call them at 866-714-6466 if they have well documented proof of a hospital paying kickbacks to physicians, for hospital admissions. These type of practices could fall under the Stark Anti Kickback Statute, and could result in a significant reward for the whistleblower, provided they have well documented proof. http://CorporateWhistleblowerCenter.Com
In a recent example of this in October the Department of Justice announced that two cardiologists based in London, Kentucky, have agreed to pay $380,000 to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by entering into allegedly sham management agreements with Saint Joseph Hospital, also based in London, Kentucky, allegedly in exchange for the referral of cardiology procedures and other healthcare services to Saint Joseph.
Allegedly the two cardiologists jointly owned Cumberland Clinic, a physician group that provided cardiology services. The government alleged that St. Joseph Hospital entered into agreements with the physicians, under which the physicians were paid to provide management services but according to the government allegedly these services were not provided.
The government further alleged that, in exchange for the agreements, the physicians allegedly agreed to enter into an exclusive agreement with St. Joseph to refer Cumberland Clinic patients to the hospital for cardiology and allegedly other services in violation of the Stark Law and the Anti-Kickback Statute.
The Stark Law forbids a hospital from billing Medicare for certain services referred by physicians who have a financial relationship with the entity. The Anti-Kickback Statute prohibits offering, paying, soliciting or receiving remuneration to induce referrals of items or services covered by federal health care programs, including Medicare.
In this instance the whistleblowers will collectively receive $68,400.
Simple rules for a whistleblower from the Corporate Whistleblower Center:
- Do not go to the government first if you are a major whistleblower. The Corporate Whistleblower Center says, “Major whistleblowers frequently go to the federal government thinking they will help. It’s a huge mistake.”
- Do not go to the news media with your whistleblower information. Public revelation of a whistleblower’s information could destroy any prospect for a reward.
- Do not try to force a government contractor or corporation to come clean to the government about their wrongdoing. The Corporate Whistleblower Center says, “Fraud is so rampant among federal contractors that any suggestion of exposure might result in an instant job termination, or harassment of the whistleblower. Come to us first, tell us what type of information you have, and if we think it’s sufficient, we will help find the right law firms to assist in advancing your information.”
The Corporate Whistleblower Center wants to emphasize there are high quality Medicare fraud whistleblowers in every state including California, New York, Florida, Texas, Massachusetts, Maryland, Rhode Island, Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, Missouri, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, Kansas, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, Idaho, Washington, and Alaska.
Any type of insider or employee who possesses significant proof of their employer or a government contractor defrauding the federal government is encouraged to contact Corporate Whistleblower Center anytime at 866-714-6466 or via their web site at http://CorporateWhistleblowerCenter.Com
For attribution please refer to the October 2014 Justice Department press release on this matter. http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/kentucky-cardiologists-agree-pay-380000-settle-false-claims-act-allegations-based-illegal
Case number: The lawsuit is captioned United States ex rel. Jones, Hollingsworth, and Rukavina v. St. Joseph Health System et al., no. 11-cv-81-GFVT (E.D.Ky.)
