The High Desert Daily News quotes Phillips & Cohen whistleblower attorneys Edward Arens and Molly Knobler in its coverage of the qui tam case they filed against Prime Healthcare, its CEO and a California cardiologist. The settlement totaled $37.5M.
Doctors are permitted to sell their practices to hospitals and other competitors, but the payment must be for fair market value,” said Edward H. Arens, a whistleblower attorney and partner at Phillips & Cohen in its San Francisco office. “Throwing inflated sums of money at doctors for their medical practices and salaries as a hidden way to get patient referrals isn’t allowed.”
The complaint claims that both Dr. Reddy and the cardiologist, Dr. Arunasalam “knew and intended that [Dr. Arunasalam] would receive an outsized salary and above-market payment for his practices in exchange for referring his patients to [Desert Valley Hospital] where they would receive the same services at higher prices.”
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“We allege that one office became a ‘falsification factory’ that systematically altered invoices and purchase orders to make it appear that Prime Healthcare spent more on implants than it really did,” said Molly Knobler, a whistleblower attorney at Phillips & Cohen.
Mr. Mansukhani said that the outcome would not have been possible without the team that he had on his side.
Read the entire article, “Emerging details in Prime whistleblower case; company responds,” on High Desert Daily News‘ website.