The Detroit Medical Center and its current and previous owners agreed to pay a $29.7 million settlement to resolve allegations the companies operated a kickback scheme and falsified Medicare claims for roughly three years, the Department of Justice announced Wednesday.
A whistleblower, former Wayne State University Medical School employee Dr. Jay Meythaler, will receive $5.2 million as part of the $29,744,065 settlement.
"Paying and accepting kickbacks encourages providers to put personal financial gain before the needs of their patients," said Special Agent in Charge Mario Pinto of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General in a news release.
"As this case demonstrates, those who enter into such improper arrangements and put the safety of their patients at risk will be held accountable."
Federal prosecutors alleged that DMC's Sinai Grace and Harper University hospitals set up an arrangement to encourage physicians to refer Medicare patients to DMC facilities.
DMC selected 13 physicians that had referred large numbers of patients to its hospitals and provided the services of DMC-employed practitioners to those physicians at no cost or below fair market value between 2014 and 2017.
The Justice Department said DMC "provided kickbacks" to those referring physicians.
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