Dive Brief:
- On Thursday, Adventist Health, which owns Florida Hospital in central Florida, agreed to pay the US government 5.4M to settle a false claims case.
- The hospital was accused of providing radiation services to Medicare and TRICARE cancer patients without appropriate supervision, which is a violation of the False Claims Act.
- The Tampa radiation oncologist who alerted the authorities will receive more than $1 million for blowing the whistle.
Dive Insight:
Radiation oncology services provided to Medicare or TRICARE patients must be directly supervised by a radiation oncologist or similarly-qualified personnel, and this case demonstrates that it is unwise for hospitals to cut corners. "Today's settlement demonstrates our continued vigilance to ensure that federal healthcare beneficiaries receive the highest quality of patient care," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer of the Justice Department's Civil Division. "It is critical that healthcare providers adequately supervise the services they provide to their patients."