Avanti Hospitals Llc, and Its Owners Agree to Pay $8.1 Million to Settle Allegations of Making Illegal Payments in Exchange for Referrals
"Financial arrangements that improperly compensate physicians for referrals encourage physicians to make decisions based on financial gain rather than patient needs," said Assistant Attorney General
The government alleged that the payments from Avanti,
The settlement announced resolved allegations that Avanti,
"Illegal kickbacks paid to doctors for referrals burden our healthcare system, drive up insurance costs for everyone, and corrupt the doctor-patient relationship," said
Avanti and
"Patients and taxpayers rightly should expect that referrals be based on sound medical judgement, not driven by thinly veiled bribes, as alleged here," said
The settlement partially resolves allegations originally brought in a lawsuit filed under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act by Dr.
The government's intervention in this matter illustrates its emphasis on combating health care fraud. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Tips and complaints from all sources about potential fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement can be reported to the
This matter was handled by the Civil Division's Commercial Litigation Branch, the
The case is docketed as
Press Release Number:
19-15
Updated
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