Adventist Health Settles False Claim Suit for $14.1 Million

Adventist Health System/West and its affiliated hospital White Memorial Medical Center in Los Angeles will pay the government $14.1 million to resolve claims that they violated the False Claims Act. This was a whistleblower (qui tam) suit, and the two doctors who originally filed it will get $2,839,219. The rest of the settlement will go to the U.S. Government ($11.5 million) and the California Department of Health Care Services ($2.6 million). While Adventist does not need to admit fault in the settlement, the allegation in the suit was that it hospital, White Memorial, selling them medical and non-medical supplies and inventory at a discount that was less than fair market value and also paid the physicians more than fair market value to teach at the hospital’s family practice residency program. The original lawsuit was filed in 2008, and the resolution cam about through the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT) initiative -- a collaboration between the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). As part of the settlement, White Memorial also signed a five-year Corporate Integrity Agreement with the HHS Office of Inspector General. Read the announcement from the DOJ.