The Halifax Staffing Inc. and Halifax Hospital Medical Center recently agreed on an $85 million settlement to close out allegations in which Halifax was in violation of the False Claims Act by handing out claims to Medicare --- a violation of the Stark Law.
The case is worth paying attention to as it’s the biggest penalty made against a hospital regarding Stark Law violations, doubling its last record of $39 million.
The suits alleged that Halifax knew of violating the Stark Law but still deploying contracts with multiple oncologists that offered incentive pay which included prescription drug tests ordered and improperly billing MediCare
The government also claimed Halifax paid several neurosurgeons more than the market share of their work.
The deal doesn’t completely resolve claims pending in the suits against Halifax. A trial will be scheduled later this month to concentrate on whether the hospital falsely look in patients for short says who didn’t actually need inpatient care and then charging Medicare for the admissions.
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