Compliance News Roundup: Stark Law Allegations

1. South Carolina Hospital to Pay $17 Million to Resolve False Claims Act and Stark Law Allegations - “The Lexington County Health Services District Inc. d/b/a Lexington Medical Center located in West Columbia, South Carolina, has agreed to pay $17 million to resolve allegations that it violated the Physician Self-Referral Law (the Stark Law) and the False Claims Act by maintaining improper financial arrangements with 28 physicians, the Department of Justice announced…” Read More Here: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/south-carolina-hospital-pay-17-million-resolve-false-claims-act-and-stark-law-allegations

2. Lexington Medical settles civil fraud suit for $17 million - “The settlement, in which Lexington Medical Center expressly denied any wrongdoing, allowed the medical center to avoid continued costly litigation that could have lasted for several years,” hospital spokeswoman Jennifer Wilson said in a statement released Friday afternoon. Wilson stressed none of the matters covered in the lawsuit were related “to the quality of care provided by Lexington Medical Center or inaccurate billing.” Read More Here: http://www.thestate.com/news/local/article91389192.html

3. Deeper Than The Headlines: Stark Law Allegations - Compliance expert CJ Wolf dives deeper into the news story and warns hospitals to be careful of how they incentivize physicians,“ ... we need to be careful how we incentivize physicians. Developing appropriate incentives with physicians is an important step when purchasing a physician practice. However, the devil is in the details.” Read More Here: Deeper Than the Headlines: Stark Law Allegations