Hospital Operator Agrees to Pay $900 Million

Tenet Healthcare Corp., one of the nation’s largest hospital chains and operator of the 396-bed Encino-Tarzana Regional Medical Center, has agreed to pay the United States more than $900 million to resolve a handful of so-called “whistleblower” lawsuits charging that it knowingly submitted false claims to federal health insurance programs over the past decade. The Dallas-based company has been the subject of several investigations and civil suits concerning Tenet’s billings to Medicare and other health care programs. More than $47 million will be paid to resolve charges that Tenet paid kickbacks to doctors to get Medicare patients referred to its facilities. The payment equates to $725 million over four years plus interest. Some of the allegations arose from lawsuits filed by whistleblowers under the terms of the False Claims Act. Tenet owns 73 hospitals in 13 states and acquired Encino-Tarzana Regional Medical Center in 1993.