Libertyville, IL, medical center to pay $36 million fine to settle fraud allegations

Libertyville, IL-based Condell Medical Center will pay a $36 million settlement to government health programs after the hospital said it accepted improper payments from federal health insurance programs for more than five years. The improper payments, which Condell executives brought to the attention of the U.S. Attorney's Office, was uncovered in the process of the medical center's due diligence with Advocate Health Care, which finalized a deal to buy the 283-bed hospital in Lake County for $180 million. The settlement resolves deals that included improper loans made to physicians, leases with doctor practices that were below fair market value and hospital payments to doctors who performed "patient services without required written agreements," the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a statement.