An orthopedic surgeon, a nursing facility and several health care executives will pay $1.5 million to settle federal allegations of a kickback scheme involving Medicare and TRICARE patients.
The Orlando Sentinel reports Dr. Kenneth Krumins agreed to pay $500,000, while Conway Lakes Health & Rehabilitation Center, its Atlanta-based management company Clear Choice Health, and three executives -- Matthew File, Jeffrey Cleveland and Geoffrey Fraser -- will collectively pay $1 million.
The Justice Department says Krumins was paid under a sham "medical director" agreement to refer patients to Conway Lakes in violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute.
Special Agent Shimon R. Richardson at the Department of Health and Human Services' Office of the Inspector General says such an arrangement "corrupts physician decision making" and undermines public trust in health care.
