Oklahoma City Home Health Company and Two Former Corporate Officers Agree to Pay $22.9 Million to Settle Federal False Claims Act and Kickback Allegations Arising from Improper Payments to Referring Physicians
US Attorney's Office, Western District of Oklahoma, Oct. 18, 2022
OKLAHOMA CITY – CHC Holdings, LLC d/b/a Carter Healthcare, as well as Stanley Carter and Brad Carter (collectively Defendants) agreed to pay $22,948,004 to resolve allegations that Carter Healthcare wrongfully paid physicians to induce referrals of home health patients under the guise of medical directorships, resulting in the submission of false claims to the Medicare and TRICARE programs, announced United States Attorney Robert J. Troester. CHC Holdings, LLC d/b/a Carter Healthcare, is an Oklahoma limited liability company that provides home healthcare through subsidiaries in multiple states, including Texas and Oklahoma.
The Anti-Kickback Statute prohibits offering, paying, soliciting, or receiving remuneration to induce referrals of items or services covered by Medicare, Medicaid, and other federally funded programs. The Physician Self-Referral Law, commonly known as the Stark Law, prohibits a hospital from billing Medicare for certain services referred by physicians with whom the hospital has an improper financial arrangement, including the payment of compensation that exceeds the fair market value of the services provided by the physician. Both the Anti-Kickback Statute and the Stark Law are intended to ensure that physicians’ medical judgments are not compromised by improper financial incentives and instead are based on the best interests of their patients. Claims submitted under the Anti-Kickback Statute and the Stark Law violate the False Claims Act.
"Offering illegal financial incentives to physicians in return for patient referrals undermines the integrity of our health care system," said U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester. "Patients deserve care based on good medicine and informed choice that is free from the corrupting influence of money and other motivating enticements. We are committed to pursuing entities and individuals that offer kickbacks and the doctors that solicit or accept them."
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