Weirton Medical Center Agrees to a $1.5 Million Medicare Claims Settlement
A Weirton hospital will pay $1.5 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by knowingly submitting or causing the submission of claims to Medicare in violation of the Physician Self-Referral Law.
Weirton Medical Center agreed to pay that settlement, which is based on the hospital’s financial condition after it voluntarily disclosed potential violations of the Physician Self-Referral Law, also known as the Stark Law, according to a release from the United States Department of Justice.
The Stark Law prohibits a hospital from billing Medicare for certain services referred by physicians with whom the hospital has a financial relationship unless that relationship satisfies one of the law’s statutory or regulatory exceptions. The Stark Law ensures that medical decision-making is not compromised by improper financial incentives, and instead based on the patients’ best interests.
