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The parent company of the Florida Hospital chain settled claims accusing it of violating federal law while providing radiation oncology services to Medicare and Tricare patients.
Adventist Health System Sunbelt Healthcare Corp. will pay $5.4 million — including nearly $1.1 million to an oncologist now working at H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute in Tampa — to resolve a complaint that patients were not receiving the direct supervision by radiation oncologists required by Medicare and Tricare, the program managed by the U.S. Department of Defense, a release states.
Adventist did not admit fault in the settlement, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Between January 2010 and December 2013, the Justice Department claims Adventist violated the supervision requirement for radiation oncology services provided at several Florida locations, primarily in the Orlando area. Those services included radiation simulation, dosimetry, radiation treatment delivery and devices and intensity-modulated radiation therapy.
The claims came to light through a lawsuit filed by Dr. Michael Montejo against his former employer, the Florida Oncology Network, claiming the company was billing Medicare and Tricare for services despite not providing appropriate supervision.
Florida Hospital spokeswoman Samantha Kearns O'Lenick tells the Business Observer in a statement that the chain is “committed to providing safe and effective treatment to our patients, whose health and wellness is of utmost priority.”
“We take the federal oversight requirements for radiation oncology services very seriously, cooperated with the government, and are pleased to have reached an agreement,” O'Lenick says.
Montejo alleged in his lawsuit that one patient in mid-2012 had been irradiated in the same spot on his body multiple times, killing spinal tissue, and rendered him a paraplegic. Montejo claimed Florida Oncology Network fired him after he communicated his concerns with Florida Hospital, which worked with Florida Oncology Network to treat patients in that region.
“It is important to note that we do not believe there is evidence that the care of any patient was impacted by the legal issues in dispute,” O'Lenick says. “Florida Hospital physicians, nurses and clinical staff work tirelessly to provide exceptional and compassionate care to each of our patients.”
Since January 2009, the Justice Department says it has recovered more than $23.8 billion through False Claim Act cases, with more than $15.2 billion of that recovered in cases involving fraud against federal health care programs.
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