Ohio non-profit corporation, Memorial Hospital, has agreed to pay $8.5 million to settle allegations that it engaged in improper financial relationships with referring physicians according to a DoJ press release.  The allegations involved financial relationships that Memorial Hospital had with two physicians that violated statutory requirements under the False Claims Act, the Anti-Kickback Statute and the Stark Law.  One was a joint venture between Memorial Hospital and a pain management physician and the other was an arrangement under which an ophthalmologist purchased intraocular lenses and then resold them to Memorial Hospital at inflated prices.  Memorial Hospital disclosed these issues to the government.

“Physician referrals should be made exclusively on what’s best for the patient, not on financial relationships,” said U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio Steven M. Dettelbach.  “We hope that this settlement will once again help drive that message home.”

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