An Orlando Surgery Center and Surgical Care Affiliates Will Pay $3.4 Million to Settle False Claims Allegations
Acting United States Attorney Karin Hoppmann announces today that the Surgical Care Affiliates, LLC and Orlando Center for Outpatient Surgery, LP have agreed to pay the United States $3.4 million to resolve allegations that both companies violated the False Claims Act by submitting claims for kidney stone procedures that were not medically justified and for engaging in an illegal kickback arrangement.
The United States previously intervened in a whistleblower lawsuit against SCA and the Orlando Center on October 15, 2019. The lawsuit and settlement relate to the submission of claims for extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy, a procedure used to break up kidney stones.
According to the lawsuit, Dr. Patrick Hunter was a urologist who performed lithotripsy procedures at the Orlando Center, a facility affiliated with SCA. According to the settlement agreement, between January 2010 and April of 2016, the Orlando Center submitted claims for lithotripsy procedures performed on Medicare and TRICARE patients by Dr. Hunter that were medically unnecessary because the procedures were not medically indicated or because the patients did not have kidney stones.
