SANTA ANA, California — An Orange County-based medical scan provider has agreed to pay $8.3 million to resolve allegations of violating the False Claims Act by paying excessive fees to cardiologists for referrals.
Modern Nuclear Inc. (MNI), a La Habra-based mobile PET scan company, will pay a total of $8,334,350, according to a press release from the Department of Justice. The settlement addresses claims that MNI violated the Anti-Kickback Statute by compensating referring cardiologists with fees above fair market value for supervising positron emission tomography (PET) scans.
“Paying illegal kickbacks to doctors so they refer patients undermines the integrity of federal health care programs and needlessly increases costs,” said First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli. “Patients deserve care based on their medical need and not on a doctor or company’s financial interest.”…