A suburban medical center has agreed to pay $36 million to resolve issues related to improper payments, leases and loans to physicians, the U.S. attorney’s office in Chicago said Monday.
A suburban medical center has agreed to pay $36 million to resolve issues related to improper payments, leases and loans to physicians, the U.S. attorney’s office in Chicago said Monday.
Condell Health Center in Libertyville voluntarily disclosed the improper payments from Medicare and Medicaid programs and avoided a lawsuit under the federal False Claims Act, U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald said in a statement.
“We expect health-care providers to come forward when they discover issues that could rise to the level of fraud without waiting for us to catch up to them, and when they do so, they may well benefit,” Fitzgerald said.
Violations included the lease of medical office space below fair market value, improper loans to physicians and payments to doctors who performed “patient services without required written agreements” as required by federal law between 2002 and 2007, Fitzgerald’s office said.
Federal laws prohibit hospital payments to doctors for patient referrals. The loans and low rent could be construed as encouragement for doctors to refer patients to the hospital.
The violations were uncovered as part of the medical center’s due diligence with Advocate Health Care, which has completed a deal to buy the hospital for $180 million, officials said. Condell Health Center will pay more than $33 million to the federal government and about $2.9 million to the state.
Condell Health Network of Oak Brook, the parent company of Condell Health Center, negotiated the settlement, officials said.
Condell does not admit liability “and agreed to the settlement to avoid the delay, uncertainty and expense of protracted litigation,” Fitzgerald’s office said.
Money for the settlement will be paid from Condell’s cash reserves, Advocate Health Care said. AP
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