We warned the city council about doing business with these folks, deaf ears;
Seven ambulance industry defendants have agreed to pay the government a total of over $21 million to settle a False Claims Act lawsuit alleging that they knowingly submitted claims to the Medicare and Medicaid programs that violated the Anti‑Kickback Statute, the Justice Department announced today.
The Anti-Kickback Statute prohibits offering, paying, soliciting, or receiving remuneration to induce referrals of items or services covered by Medicare, Medicaid, and other federally funded programs. The Anti-Kickback Statute is intended to ensure that medical providers’ judgments are not compromised by improper financial incentives and are instead based on the best interests of their patients.
The settlements announced today resolve allegations brought in a whistleblower action filed under the False Claims Act in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas by Stephen Dean. Dr. Dean alleged that East Texas Medical Center Regional Healthcare System, Inc. and East Texas Medical Center Regional Health Services, Inc. (together, “the ETMC Defendantsâ€), and their affiliated ambulance company, Paramedics Plus, LLC (“Paramedics Plusâ€), offered kickbacks to several municipal entities to secure their lucrative ambulance business, including Emergency Medical Services Authority (“EMSAâ€), Alameda County, California, and Pinellas County Emergency Medical Services Authority in Florida (“Pinellas EMSAâ€). The False Claims Act authorizes private parties to file suit for false claims on behalf of the United States, and permits the United States to intervene in such suits, as it did here in part.
It seems more and more, the city likes doing partnerships with crooks.