Cookeville Regional Medical Center Authority, has agreed to pay $4.1 million to settle allegations that it violated the False Claims Act (“FCA”). The alleged conduct involved payments to physicians in violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute and Stark Law. The settlement resolves allegations by the United States and State of Tennessee that from January 2012 through December 2017, Cookeville Regional Medical Center (“CRMC”), a hospital in Cookeville, Tennessee, submitted false claims for payment to the Medicare program and to TennCare as a result of violations of the Federal Anti-Kickback Statute and the Stark Law. These violations related to financial arrangements between CRMC and physicians associated with its wholly owned subsidiary physician practice, CRMC MSO-Sub 1, Inc. d/b/a Tennessee Heart. Under the terms of the agreement, the United States will receive $3,647,155.00 and the State of Tennessee will receive $452,845.00.
