May 15, 2008
Baptist Health South Florida Inc. will pay the United States $7,775,000 to settle claims that it violated the False Claims Act and the Stark Statute between 2003 and 2005. The government alleged that the healthcare system paid excessive compensation to an oncology group that was a source of patient referrals, according to an article in the Sun Herald.
The Stark law prohibits providers from billing Medicare and Medicaid for referrals from doctors with whom the providers have a financial relationship, unless that relationship falls within certain exceptions.