Christ Hospital Finalizes Kickback Settlement with Feds

When the settlement was announced in May, TCH declined to enter a corporate integrity agreement. This week, however, TCH issued a statement saying it "views the CIA as further evidence of the hospital’s continued commitment to conduct its business in accordance with the highest ethical standards and in compliance with the requirements for participation in the federal healthcare programs."

The government alleged that The Christ Hospital, a 555-bed acute care hospital in Mount Auburn, OH, limited work at the Heart Station—an outpatient cardiology testing unit that provides non-invasive heart procedures—to cardiologists who referred patients to the hospital.

Cardiologists whose referrals contributed at least 2% of the hospital's yearly gross revenues were rewarded with a corresponding percentage of time at the Heart Station, where they could bill for the patients they treated at the unit and for any follow-up procedures that these patients required, prosecutors alleged.