The Christ Hospital Settles Whistleblower Suit with Feds

The Christ Hospital in Cincinnati has agreed to settle a federal whistleblower suit alleging that the hospital ran a kickback scheme with physicians to funnel patients to its cardiac care center.

Officials with The Christ Hospital admitted no guilt in the settlement, which could cost in the range of $100 million.

"We cannot comment on any terms of the settlement because the parties are currently finalizing the written agreement; however, this settlement allows the hospital to avoid the risk of the multi-billion dollar award sought by the government," says Heather Adkins, chief strategy officer at The Christ Hospital, in a written statement.

"While we continue to disagree with the government's allegations that the assignment of physicians to our cardiac testing station resulted in the inducement of local cardiologists to refer patients to the hospital, we decided to contribute to the joint settlement agreement with the Health Alliance of Greater Cincinnati instead of risking a potential catastrophic judgment that could jeopardize our ability to provide service to this community," Adkins says.

Officials from the Healthcare Alliance of Greater Cincinnati, the hospital's former parent company, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Christ Hospital withdrew from the alliance in 2008.

Glenn Whitaker, the attorney for plaintiff Harry Fry, MD, a retired cardiologist who filed the whistleblower suit in 2003, says the settlement could be in the range of $100 million, and Fry could collect up to 25% of the settlement.

"This is a real big one. I don't want to give you precise numbers, but that is pretty accurate," Whitaker says of the estimated $100 million figure. "The number that is the subject of this settlement speaks for itself."

The U.S. Justice Department investigated the allegations for five years before intervening in 2008. Calls to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Cincinnati were not immediately returned.

Whitaker says the government alleges that The Christ Hospital set up a scheme with a physician group known as Ohio Heart & Vascular Center that would give it preferred access at specialized non-invasive testing areas for EKGs, echocardiograms, and other tests based on the volume of their referrals to the hospital.

OHVC was sold to The Christ Hospital in 2008. An attorney for the OHVC group told The Cincinnati Enquirer that the physicians would not be required to share the cost of the settlement.

Adkins maintains that the hospital was providing "necessary and often life-saving medical care by ensuring sufficient cardiologists coverage to read heart tests provided in the hospital."

"There was no challenge in this case to the medical necessity or quality of patient care. Nor did the government suffer any loss as it did not expend any money for the services beyond standard Medicare payments," Adkins says.

By paying a portion of the settlement, Adkins says, "The Christ Hospital can move forward without years of ongoing litigation and the risk of a crippling judgment. We will proceed with our plans to improve and grow services provided for this community with the region's most respected hospital, staff, and physicians."