HCA settles criminal fraud allegations for $95 million
HCA-The Healthcare Co. (formerly known as Columbia-HCA) has agreed to pay $95 million in criminal penalties to settle allegations of unlawful billing practices, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Dec. 14. That’s in addition to the $745 million HCA agreed last May to pay to settle civil fraud allegations.
The agreement settles most of the outstanding issues, but "there are some doors that are still opened," says DOJ spokesman Charles Miller. The agreement does not resolve civil issues related to cost reporting and physician kickbacks, according to a DOJ statement.
"It’s a landmark case," says John Bentivoglio, of the law firm Arnold & Porter in Washington, DC. "It’s a further reminder that health care fraud is at the top of the DOJ’s agenda and will remain so for the foreseeable future."
Stuart Gerson of Epstein Becker in Washington, DC, says the agreement represents a "cleansing" of the business. "It allows HCA to go forward with its business and close a very unpleasant chapter in its history," he says.
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