Christ Hospital and co-defendant Health Alliance of Greater Cincinnati have reached a settlement agreement with the U.S. Government to resolve a lawsuit alleging that the hospital gave kickbacks to cardiologists in order to induce them to refer patients to the hospital’s cardiac-care center in violation of the False Claims Act. The Government asserts that the kickback scheme resulted in more than 100,000 unlawful claims submitted to Medicare or Medicaid. Although the actual amount of the settlement has not been made public, it is rumored that it could approach $100 million. The qui tam lawsuit was brought by a retired cardiologist who is expected to receive millions as a reward for blowing the whistle on the alleged misconduct.
