WEIRTON – Weirton Medical Center has agreed to pay $1.5 million to resolve allegations the hospital violated the False Claims Act by knowingly submitting or causing the submission of claims to Medicare in violation of the Physician Self-Referral Law.
According to information released Thursday by U.S. Attorney William Ihlenfeld’s office, the settlement follows a voluntary self-disclosure made by the hospital regarding potential violations of the self-referral law, also known as the Stark Law.
According to a statement from WMC, the alleged violations occurred between March 1, 2012 and May 30, 2019, during the tenure of the hospital’s previous management firm. The same firm also previously managed Wheeling Hospital, which, in September 2020, agreed to a $50 million settlement over similar allegations.
According to Ihlenfeld’s office the Stark Law prohibits a hospital from billing Medicare for certain services referred by physicians with whom the hospital has a financial relationship, unless that relationship satisfies one of the law’s statutory or regulatory exceptions.
The Stark Law is intended to ensure that medical decision-making is not compromised by improper financial incentives and is instead based on the best interests of the patient. The settlement resolves Weirton Medical Center’s liability under the False Claims Act for submitting claims to Medicare that resulted from violations of the Stark Law due to payment of compensation to referring physicians that allegedly...
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