A settlement has been reached to resolve False Claims Act allegations against EmCare Inc and Physician’s Alliance Ltd.
The allegations arose from a lawsuit that claimed EmCare Inc and Physician’s Alliance Ltd (PAL) received illegal remuneration in exchange for patient referrals to hospitals owned by the now-defunct Health Management Associates (HMA).
According to the government, allegedly from 2008 to 2012, HMA made bonus payments to EmCare doctors and tied EmCare’s contracts for staffing its hospitals to increasing admissions to HMA facilities of patients covered by Medicare. Under the settlement, EmCare will pay $29.6 million to resolve allegations.
Also, according to the government, allegedly Physicians’ Alliance and three of its executives from 2009 to 2012 also accepted payments in return for referring patients to two HMA hospitals. Under the settlement, PAL and its executives will pay $4 million plus a percentage of proceeds from the sale of PAL’s interest in a joint venture with HMA.
“These settlements demonstrate our commitment to ensuring that physician judgment is not compromised by illegal inducements,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Civil Division, Chad A. Readler. “Patient care decisions should be based on the needs of patients rather than the financial interests of physicians.”
The whistleblowers, Dr. Thomas Mason and Dr. Stephen Folstad, whose medical practice previously supplied doctors to staff HMA hospital emergency departments, will receive $6.2 million under the EmCare settlement.
In a separate action, former HMA hospital executives, George E. Miller and Michael J. Metts, filed suit alleging the scheme between PAL and HMA. Their share of the settlement has not yet been determined.
