The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has joined a whistleblower lawsuit against a group of heart testing facilities in Ohio that charges the firms with allegedly providing kickbacks to cardiologists in exchange for patient referrals.
The DOJ intervened in a lawsuit that charges Christ Hospital, Health Alliance of Greater Cincinnati, and Ohio Heart Health Center of defrauding federal healthcare programs. Christ Hospital is a Cincinnati-based hospital that formerly was a member of Heart Alliance, while Ohio Heart is a cardiology group in the region.
The lawsuit centers on an outpatient cardiology testing facility within Christ Hospital called Heart Station, where patients receive noninvasive heart procedures such as electrocardiograms, echocardiograms, and stress tests. The suit charges that between 1999 and 2004, "cardiologists were allocated time at the Heart Station based solely on the amount of coronary arterial bypass graph procedures and catheter lab revenues generated by each cardiologist or cardiology group for Christ Hospital during the previous year," according to a statement released by the Department of Justice.
According to the DOJ, cardiologists were rewarded for referring business or generating revenue for Christ Hospital with the opportunity to bill for patients they treated at Heart Station, as well as for any follow-up procedures required. The DOJ points out that it is illegal under federal law to provide or receive financial incentives in exchange for patient referrals. The alleged system gave area cardiologists an incentive to perform certain procedures at Christ Hospital, and prevented other cardiologists from working at Heart Station, the DOJ charges.
The lawsuit was originally filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio in Cincinnati by a cardiologist who previously provided services to Christ Hospital and Ohio Heart. Under the U.S. False Claims Act, private parties can file actions on behalf of the U.S. government, and receive a portion of any penalties that are awarded.
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