An administrative arm of South Shore Hospital will pay nearly $1.8 million in civil penalties after state and federal investigators said the organization was running an illegal kickback scheme, paying doctors to refer patients to services within the hospital's health care network. The doctors, members of independent physicians groups affiliated with South Shore Hospital, received cash incentives for keeping treatments within South Shore's system instead of referring patients out of network, according to court documents. Authorities said the kickbacks included 103 payouts to 33 physician groups over nine years ending in 2010. They continued despite "a number of instances in which [the organization's] attorneys and others raised concerns about the legality of the program," the complaint said.
