The payment will resolve Stark Act and False Claims Act allegations against the Florida-based provider, which self-disclosed the violations and cooperated with the government investigation.
Physician-led 21st Century Oncology Inc. will pay the federal government $26 million to resolve False Claims Act allegations of inflated attestations for electronic health records, and alleged Stark Act violations involving kickbacks for referring physicians, the Department of Justice said.
The allegations were self-disclosed by 21st Century Oncology, and also brought forward in a whistleblower lawsuit, DOJ said.
"The Justice Department is committed to zealously investigating improper financial relationships that have the potential to compromise physicians' medical judgment," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Chad A. Readler in DOJ's Civil Division. "However, we will work with companies that accept responsibility for their past compliance failures and promptly take corrective action."
HealthLeaders Media’s request for comment from Ft. Myers, FL-based 21st Century Oncology were not returned.
The settlement announced this week resolves separate allegations against 21st Century Oncology involving falsified EHR attestation, and kickbacks and kickbacks for physician referrals.
First, 21st Century Oncology admitted that it "knowingly submitted, or caused the submission of, false attestations to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services concerning employed physicians' use of EHR software," DOJ said.
"The company further reported that, in support of the attestations, its employees falsified data regarding the company’s use of EHR software, fabricated software utilization reports, and superimposed EHR vendor logos onto the reports to make them look legitimate," DOJ said.
Secondly, 21st Century Oncology admitted to Stark Law violations that involved submitted claims for services that were generated by referrals from physicians with whom they had improper financial relationships.
The Stark Law allegations were originally brought in a whistleblower lawsuit filed by Matthew Moore, 21st Century Oncology’s former Interim Vice President of Financial Planning. Moore will receive $2 million as his share of the recovery.
In addition to the settlement, 21st Century Oncology has entered into a five-year Corporate Integrity Agreement with federal auditors.
21st Century Oncology owns and operates 143 centers in 17 states, and 36 centers in seven Latin American countries.
John Commins is the news editor for HealthLeaders.