Hospital Agrees to Settle Whistleblower Claims for $85 Million

A Florida hospital recently reached an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice to pay $85 million to settle part of a whistleblower lawsuit initiated by a former employee who accused the hospital of illegal kickbacks to its cancer doctors and neurosurgeons, and Medicare fraud. (U.S. et al. v. Halifax Hospital Medical Center et al., case no. 6:09-cv-01002, U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida). This case was closely watched by healthcare entities, as potential liability reportedly exceeded $1 billion.