News, Analysis, Trends, Management Innovations for
Clinical Laboratories and Pathology Groups
Hosted by Robert Michel

News, Analysis, Trends, Management Innovations for
Clinical Laboratories and Pathology Groups
Hosted by Robert Michel
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Health Diagnostic Laboratory and Singulex to Pay $48.5M to Settle Fraud Charges Involving Kickbacks and Unnecessary Testing as Feds Sue Two More Medical Labs and Three Executives on Similar Charges

Apr 13, 2015 | Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Management & Operations

Under the DOJ’s settlement agreement, HDL may need to pay as much as $100 million, according to a published report

Health Diagnostics Laboratory Inc. (HDL), of Richmond, Virginia, and Singulex Inc., of Alameda, California, agreed to pay $48.5 million to settle charges that they violated the False Claims Act, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Thursday.

According to the DOJ, the labs violated the Anti-Kickback Statute by paying physicians in exchange for patient referrals, in addition to billing federal health care programs for medically unnecessary testing. Pathologists, medical laboratory scientists, and clinical laboratory directors have watched this case closely since it became public knowledge last fall.

Other Clinical Laboratories and Lab Executives Face Federal Lawsuits (more…)

Wall Street Journal Writes about Federal Investigation of Health Diagnostic Laboratory and Certain Specialty Medical Lab Test Companies

Sep 15, 2014 | Coding, Billing, and Collections, Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology

Did “processing fees” paid by certain clinical laboratory companies to physicians represent an inducement that violated federal anti-kickback laws?

Once again, allegations of fraudulent practices at a fast-growing clinical laboratory company have made national headlines. This time it was a front-page story in The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) that last week discussed the controversy surrounding Health Diagnostic Laboratory (HDL) of Richmond, Virginia.

According to the WSJ story, federal healthcare authorities are looking into a practice by HDL and other medical laboratory companies of paying physicians “to process” blood specimens collected in their offices. As described by the WSJ, this “processing fee” was as much as $20 and included a $3 portion for the venipuncture. (more…)

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