$4.7 Million Penalty For Steward Health Care System

$4.7 Million Penalty For Steward Health Care System

Introduction

Plaintiffs' legal representation has announced that Steward Health Care System has agreed to resolve a whistleblower action claiming kickback payments for patient referrals to its accountable care organization.

The federal government and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts will get roughly $4.7 million from the for-profit system in the 2018 case on behalf of three whistleblowers, which would be split into approximately $725,000.

The lawyer representing the whistleblowers said that the healthcare system is devoted to serving the patients and the employees, and such settlements would only serve the main purpose of the firm.

The False Claims Act breaches that were charged in the lawsuit were not acknowledged by Steward. Additionally, the federal and state governments said that they would voluntarily drop the lawsuit and would not express an opinion on any alleged infractions by Steward.

However, the health system revealed and admitted responsibility for three areas of conduct linked to the claims as part of the settlement. In its leasing agreements with hundreds of doctors, medical groups, and non-physician organisations, Steward allegedly admitted to "failing to charge the necessary rent," according to the whistleblowers' legal firm.

According to the release, the system revealed that one hospital, Steward Good Samaritan Medical Center, had a pay agreement with one doctor "for services that Steward cannot certify were provided." According to the company, the hospital reportedly established plans with two urology facilities for certain treatments that weren't provided.

Alongside the monetary settlement, Steward Good Samaritan Medical Center will enter a corporate integrity agreement with the Office of Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services. The company cooperated fully with the government investigation, in fact, self-reporting two of the three issues raised, and through actions like self-reporting, demonstrated a commitment to the highest standards of compliance and corporate integrity as informed by Steward. While Steward admits no wrongdoing, expediently putting this matter behind us now allows the company to focus without distraction on delivering accessible, high-quality healthcare to the local communities and patients it serves every day.

The bulk of False Claims Act settlements and judgments obtained by the Department of Justice include claims of healthcare fraud. The department said in February that investigations involving the healthcare business accounted for more than $5 billion of the $5.6 billion in False Claims Act recovery made by the government during fiscal 2021.

One of the biggest accountable care organizations in the nation, the Dallas-based Steward Health Care System now operates in nine states. More than 6,600 physicians and 43,000 staff members give services to 12.3 million patients each year through its integrated system, which includes 39 hospitals and 326 office sites.