Sutter Health To Pay $45M For Kickbacks, Overbilling
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The Department of Justice says Sutter Health has agreed to pay more than $45 million to settle a lawsuit by the federal government that it paid doctors in exchange for patient referrals and submitted Medicare claims that resulted from those referrals.
The department made the announced Friday, a day after the Sacramento Bee reported Sutter Health had agreed to pay more than $30 million to settle a 2014 secret lawsuit filed by the federal government and a whistleblower.
The Department says one of Sutter's hospitals, Sutter Memorial Center Sacramento, agreed to pay $30.5 million to settle allegations that it paid a group of Sacramento surgeons in exchange for the surgeons referring patients to the hospital.
Separately, Sutter has agreed to pay more than $15 million to resolve other violations, including double-billing Medicare.