Medical Group Pays $94.4K to Settle HDL Process and Handling Payment Anti-Kickback Law Charges
Case: A physician and his Texas medical group have agreed to fork over $94,440 to the OIG for accepting kickbacks from now defunct Health Diagnostic Laboratory, Inc. (HDL) in the form of processing and handling payments for collecting patient blood samples in exchange for referrals of Medicare patients for lab testing. Significance: This case is the most recent in a long line of enforcement actions against providers on the receiving end of the biggest lab testing kickback scheme in history. In April 2015, HDL paid $47 million to settle its role in the scheme. Chapter 11 bankruptcy followed shortly thereafter. In February 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit upheld a massive $114.1 million jury whistleblower case verdict against a former blood lab CEO and two sales consultants who acted as principles. Settlements with downstream physicians have been in the range $60,000 to $150,000, depending on the volume of referrals generated.
Case: A physician and his Texas medical group have agreed to fork over $94,440 to the OIG for accepting kickbacks from now defunct Health Diagnostic Laboratory, Inc. (HDL) in the form of processing and handling payments for collecting patient blood samples in exchange for referrals of Medicare patients for lab testing.
Significance: This case is the most recent in a long line of enforcement actions against providers on the receiving end of the biggest lab testing kickback scheme in history. In April 2015, HDL paid $47 million to settle its role in the scheme. Chapter 11 bankruptcy followed shortly thereafter. In February 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit upheld a massive $114.1 million jury whistleblower case verdict against a former blood lab CEO and two sales consultants who acted as principles. Settlements with downstream physicians have been in the range $60,000 to $150,000, depending on the volume of referrals generated.
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