LAKEWAY, Texas — Lakeway Regional Medical Center LLC has agreed to pay the U.S. and State of Texas more than $1 million in a settlement after being accused of submitting false claims to the Medicare and Medicaid programs.
U.S. Attorney John F. Bash and the Western District of Texas made the announcement Monday, stating that LRMC agreed to pay $1,119,177.21.
According to the U.S Department of Justice, LRMC is accused of asking physicians to refer patients to the hospital by offering them a low-risk, high-reward investment in a joint venture formed to purchase and then lease the hospital back to LRMC. The U.S. contends that claims for reimbursement submitted by LRMC to the Medicare and Medicaid programs between March 2, 2015, and Aug. 31, 2016, based on these referrals were unlawful under the federal Anti-Kickback Statute.
The allegations in this case were first reported by Robert Van Boven, M.D, and Sharon Van Boven in a lawsuit filed under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act, which allow private parties to sue on behalf of the government for false claims, and to receive a share of any recovery. Their suit remains under seal, subject to an order of the Court permitting the U.S. to disclose this settlement.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Parnham and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Susan Strawn handled this case for the Western District of Texas.
Bash thanked the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General and the Commercial Litigation Branch of the Department of Justice’s Civil Division for their help.
The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only, the U.S. Department of Justice said, and there has been no determination of liability.
Baylor Scott & White purchased Lakeway Regional Medical Center in 2016, according to the Austin Busines Journal, and it was renamed to Baylor Scott & White Medical Center - Lakeway.
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