Alta Vista Healthcare & Wellness Centre, a skilled nursing facility in Riverside, Calif., and its management company, Rockport Healthcare Services, agreed to pay the U.S. and California $3.825 million to resolve kickback allegations.
The two organizations allegedly submitted and caused the submission of false claims to Medicare and Medicaid by paying kickbacks to physicians to urge patient referrals, according to a June 21 news release from the Justice Department.
From 2009 through 2019, Alta Vista, under the direction and control of Rockport, gave certain physicians gifts. Alta Vista also paid those physicians monthly stipends of $2,500 to $4,000, purportedly for their services as medical directors. At least one of the purposes of the gifts and payments was to encourage the physicians to refer patients to Alta Vista, according to the release.
As a result of the settlement, Alta Vista and Rockport Healthcare Services have agreed to pay $3,228,300 to the U.S. and $596,700 to California.