Coyne, Special Agent in Charge of HHS-OIG. “Financial and referral arrangements between hospitals and physician practices that violate federal health care laws undermine the integrity of crucial medical decision-making,” said Phillip M. “When hospitals like Steward violate the law, we will work tirelessly to recover from them taxpayer money in order to ensure that Medicare and Medicaid funds are going to treat patients instead of supporting fraud.” “This case is about fraud, waste, and abuse by Steward at the expense of the American taxpayers,” said United States Attorney Rachael S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), which provides for an annual review of its financial arrangements for compliance with the Anti-Kickback Statute and the Stark Law by an Independent Review Organization. In connection with the settlement, GSMC has entered into a five-year Corporate Integrity Agreement with the U.S. Steward admits that between January 2010 and October 2015, it leased real property to these physicians and physician organizations and that those entities were referral sources for Steward’s Massachusetts hospitals. Second, Steward admits that it failed to charge the proper rent on some of its leases with physicians, physician organizations and non-physician organizations, resulting in some of those entities paying rent below fair market value. Steward admits that it has been unable to confirm that the physician performed the services but that it still paid the physician from November 2010 through June 2016 and that the physician referred patients to GSMC during that period. First, in October 2010, Steward entered into a compensation arrangement with a physician pursuant to which the physician agreed to serve as GSMC’s Medical Director of Post-Acute Care Services. Over the course of the government’s investigation, Steward disclosed facts concerning two other sets of physician relationships that the United States contends violated federal law. That practice also referred patients to GSMC. Steward admits, however, that the physician practice never provided a physician to serve as the director of GSMC’s Prostate Cancer Program and, in fact, did not perform any of the services specified in the agreement. During a portion of that time, GSMC had an agreement that obligated the practice to provide a physician to serve as the director of GSMC’s Prostate Cancer Program. Steward paid that physician practice from April 2011 through December 2015, purportedly for cancer center services. GSMC entered into a similar agreement with a separate physician practice. The United States reached a separate settlement agreement with Brockton Urology in February 2022 regarding this conduct. However, from April 2011 through December 2017, GSMC purportedly paid Brockton Urology pursuant to the agreement and Brockton Urology referred patients to GSMC. Steward admits that, since at least January 2012, GSMC had no Prostate Cancer Center of Excellence and Brockton Urology did not provide the services specified in the agreement with GSMC. (GSMC), a for-profit hospital in Brockton.Īccording to the settlement agreement, in 2011, GSMC entered into an agreement with Brockton Urology Clinic (Brockton Urology) which obligated Brockton Urology to administer a Prostate Cancer Center of Excellence at GSMC.
Steward owns and operates Steward Good Samaritan Medical Center, Inc. Steward is one of the largest, private for-profit health care networks in the nation and the owner of multiple hospitals in Massachusetts. BOSTON – Steward Health Care System LLC (Steward) and several related corporate entities have agreed to pay approximately $4.735 million to resolve allegations that its relationships with several physicians and physician practice groups violated federal law, including the False Claims Act. Despite its public denials, in the signed settlement agreement, Steward “admits, acknowledges, and accepts responsibility” for the facts underlying the government’s allegations.
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