Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare and Health Management Associates, based in Naples, Fla., have been accused of illegally paying a clinic in Georgia for hospital referrals, according to a Bloomberg report.
In the suit, whistleblower and former CFO of HMA, Ralph Williams, alleged the health systems paid the clinic for referring undocumented, pregnant Hispanic women to their hospitals, as the women would become eligible for Medicaid after delivery, according to the report.
In a statement, Tenet said the agreements between the clinics and hospitals "were appropriate and provided substantial benefit to women in underserved Hispanic communities served by those hospitals."
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