Adventist Health admits it violated federal law

Adventist Health System, which owns Florida Hospital, acknowledged in financial documents that its pay arrangements with some doctors broke federal law. The nonprofit health system, which owns seven hospitals in Central Florida and 44 nationwide, told the U.S. Department of Justice that it violated the federal Stark Law, which prohibits doctors and hospitals to have agreements that allow doctors to gain financially from referring patients to the hospital for tests or procedures. The law's basis is the concern that such arrangements could lead doctors to prescribe unnecessary tests and treatments, which would not only result in unnecessary billings to payers including Medicare, but would also jeopardize patient safety.