Intermountain Health Care Inc. has paid the United States $25.5 million to settle claims that it violated the Stark Statute and the False Claims Act by engaging in improper financial relationships with referring physicians, Grimy Times has learned.
The settlement, announced today, stems from allegations that Intermountain, which operates the largest health system in the state of Utah, entered into employment agreements with physicians that included bonuses that improperly took into account the value of some of their patient referrals, and office leases and compensation arrangements that violated other requirements of the Stark Statute.
The Stark Statute restricts the financial relationships that hospitals may have with doctors who refer patients to them.
“The United States has longstanding concerns about improper financial relationships between health care providers and their referral sources, because such relationships can corrupt a physician’s judgment about the patient’s true healthcare needs,” said Stuart F. Delery, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division.
“People should expect that hospitals and doctors care more for their patients than their bottom line profits,” said Gerald Roy, Special Agent in Charge for the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services region including Utah.
The resolution is part of the government’s emphasis on combating health care fraud and another step for the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT) initiative, which was announced by Attorney General Eric Holder and Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services in May 2009.
The Justice Department’s Civil Division, the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah, the Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services handled the case.
The claims settled by this agreement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.
Defendant: Intermountain Health Care Inc.
Criminal Charges: Violated the Stark Statute and the False Claims Act
City and State: Salt Lake City, Utah
Outcome: Paid $25.5 million to settle claims
Date: Not specified
Dollar Amount: $25.5 million
Related Federal Cases
- Jacob Kilgore, Health Care Fraud, Utah 2023 · Utah
- Charles Fredrick McCusker, Health Care and Mail Fraud, Utah 2007 · Utah
- Monty Ray Grow, Tricare Health Care Fraud, Florida · Florida
- Anthony Lazzarino, Health Care Fraud, California 2024 · Alaska
- Kenneth Chatman, Health Care Fraud Scheme, Florida 2023 · Florida
Key Facts
- State: Utah
- Category: Health Care Fraud
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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