Three providers will pay out $22.5 million across two separate settlements to resolve false claims allegations in California, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced.
Dignity Health and two Tenet Healthcare subsidiaries will settle allegations that they violated both federal and state false claims laws by submitting fraudulent claims to California’s Medicaid program, Medi-Cal. Dignity Health will pay $13.5 million to the U.S. government and $1.5 million to the state to resolve the allegations.
Twin Cities Community Hospital and Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center, the Tenet affiliates, will pay $6.75 million to the U.S. and $750,000 as part of the settlement, DOJ said.
“These health care providers siphoned critical Medicaid funding for their own gain instead of using it to provide health care services to patients most in need,” said U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada for the Central District of California in the release. “These major settlements demonstrate our commitment to hold accountable health care providers that seek to exploit the Medicaid program and harm the American taxpayer.”
Source: 3 providers to pay $22.5M to settle Medicaid fraud allegations in California / Fierce Healthcare