Catholic Medical Center in Manchester, N.H., agreed to pay $3.8 million to settle allegations that it violated the False Claims Act through providing kickbacks, the Justice Department said Feb. 9.
Prosecutors had alleged that Catholic Medical Center paid its own cardiologists to cover for and be available to provide medical services to another cardiologist's patients when she was on vacation or otherwise unavailable.
According to prosecutors, the hospital's cardiologists also allegedly provided "free call coverage" while an unnamed cardiologist was on vacation or not available to see patients. In return, the unavailable cardiologist provided referrals worth millions of dollars to the hospital over the decade during which the arrangement existed.
As a result of the alleged scheme, Catholic Medical Center received payments from Medicare, Medicaid and other healthcare programs for services that were a result of the referrals from the cardiologist.
The hospital did not admit liability as part of the settlement.
Catholic Medical Center told the New Hampshire Business Review that it agreed to the settlement "to avoid long and costly civil litigation" even though it "vigorously disagrees with the government's allegations that this arrangement violated federal law."