On July 28, 2016, the U.S. Department of Justice announced, “The Lexington County Health Services District Inc. d/b/a Lexington Medical Center located in West Columbia, South Carolina, has agreed to pay $17 million to resolve allegations that it violated the Physician Self-Referral Law (the Stark Law) and the False Claims Act by maintaining improper financial arrangements with 28 physicians.”

According to the government press release, “The United States alleged that Lexington Medical Center entered into asset purchase agreements for the acquisition of physician practices or employment agreements with 28 physicians that violated the Stark Law because they took into account the volume or value of physician referrals, were not commercially reasonable or provided compensation in excess of fair market value.

Also as part of the settlement, Lexington Medical Center will enter into a Corporate Integrity Agreement (CIA) with the Department of Health and Human Services-Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG) that requires Lexington Medical Center to implement measures designed to avoid or promptly detect future conduct similar to that which gave rise to this settlement.

Written by: Clay J. Countryman