U.S. ex rel. Bingham v. Baycare Health Sys. – Aug. 2015 (Summary)

FALSE CLAIMS ACT

U.S. ex rel. Bingham v. Baycare Health Sys., No. 8:14-cv-73-T-23EAJ (M.D. Fla. Aug. 14, 2015)

The United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida denied a health system’s motion for summary judgment on claims brought against it under the False Claims Act and the Stark Law. The alleged violation involves construction of medical office buildings, common areas, walkways and garages on a hospital’s campus, and leasing arrangements between the developer/landlord buildings. Specifically, the lease was amended to allow referring physicians, their staff, and their patients to use parking systems owned by another entity at no charge, which resulted in an estimated annual parking benefit per referring physician of more than $10,000.

The alleged violation arose out of the fact that the health system billed federally sponsored health programs and the government paid for claims based on referrals from tenant physicians who received remuneration from the system for referrals. The court held that the claims were sufficient to survive summary judgment because they were grounded in sufficient indicia of reliability.