Texas Heart Hospital to Pay $48 million to Resolve Allegations of False Claims
The DOJ has announced that Texas Heart Hospital of the Southwest LLP and its subsidiary THHBP Management Company, LLC have agreed to pay the US $48 million to settle allegations that the hospital submitted claims to Medicare that were in violation of the Physician Self-Referral Law and the Anti-kickback Statute of the False Claims Act. The allegations of misconduct rest on the hospitals requirement that it’s owners, who are physicians, satisfy a yearly quota of 48 patient contacts in order to maintain ownership. Under the Physician Self-Referral Law, commonly known as the Stark Law, hospitals may not bill Medicare for services furnished by a doctor with which the hospital has a financial relationship, barring certain regulatory exceptions. The law is intended to ensure physicians operate in the best interest of their patients and not under the influence of improper financial inducements.
The settlement is the result of a qui tam complaint brought by two former Texas Heart Hospital physician owners. They will collectively receive almost $14 million as their share in the recovery.
Read the DOJ press release here: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/texas-heart-hospital-and-wholly-owned-subsidiary-thhbp-management-company-llc-pay-48-million