NEW JERSEY — Secaucus-based Quest Diagnostics Inc. has paid more than $13 million to settle federal allegations that it provided doctors and health care executives with free tickets to New York Giants games and other exclusive entertainment events in exchange for patient referrals, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey.
The company paid $13,014,576 plus interest to resolve allegations that it violated the federal Anti-Kickback Statute and submitted false claims to Medicare and the New York and New Jersey Medicaid programs, U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer announced.
Federal authorities alleged that between July 25, 2013, and Aug. 3, 2022, Quest offered valuable entertainment experiences to health care providers and other decision-makers to encourage them to refer patients for laboratory testing. The company then allegedly submitted or caused the submission of claims for those services to federally funded health care programs.
“This agreement is yet another example of our office’s commitment to enforcing the False Claims Act and the Anti-Kickback Statute to protect taxpayer dollars and the Medicare and Medicaid programs from fraud, waste, and abuse. Kickbacks to referring providers, especially by lab companies, corrupt medical judgment, lead to unnecessary lab testing, cause providers to steer patients to labs that offer inducements, and squander taxpayer money,” U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer said.
According to federal prosecutors, Quest entered...
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