On April 3, 2013, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Intermountain Health Care, Inc. (Intermountain) entered into a settlement agreement resolving Intermountain’s potential liability under the Stark Law and False Claims Act.  On August 4, 2009, Intermountain, the largest health care system in the state of Utah, self disclosed potential violations of the False Claims Act and the Stark Law to the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General.  The self-disclosed conduct, which occurred between 2000 and 2009, involved bonus compensation paid to employed physicians that purportedly took into account the volume and value of referrals from the physicians, office space rented to referring physicians without written and executed leases, and certain other financial arrangements with physicians that were not written and executed for the full term of the agreement.  Under the terms of the settlement agreement, Intermountain agreed to pay the government $25,500,000 plus interest at a rate of 1.625% accruing from February 26, 2013.  To view the settlement agreement, click here.

Reporter, Paige Fillingame, Houston, +1 713 615 7632, pfillingame@kslaw.com.