Photo Provided Weirton Medical Center in Weirton

A Weirton hospital will pay $1.5 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by knowingly submitting or causing the submission of claims to Medicare in violation of the Physician Self-Referral Law.

Weirton Medical Center agreed to pay that settlement, which is based on the hospital’s financial condition after it voluntarily disclosed potential violations of the Physician Self-Referral Law, also known as the Stark Law, according to a release from the United States Department of Justice.

The Stark Law prohibits a hospital from billing Medicare for certain services referred by physicians with whom the hospital has a financial relationship unless that relationship satisfies one of the law’s statutory or regulatory exceptions. The Stark Law ensures that medical decision-making is not compromised by improper financial incentives, and instead based on the patients’ best interests.

The settlement resolves Weirton Medical Center’s liability under the False Claims Act for submitting claims to Medicare that resulted from violations of the Stark Law due to payment of compensation to referring physicians that allegedly exceeded fair market value or took into account the volume or value of the physicians’ referrals to the hospital.

“Health care decisions should be based on patients’ medical needs, not physicians’ financial interests,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Department of Justice’s Civil Division. “The department will continue to investigate financial relationships that may improperly influence physician decision-making.”

“Improper compensation arrangements between hospitals and physicians will not be tolerated,” said U.S. Attorney William Ihlenfeld for the Northern District of West Virginia. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office will be aggressive in its pursuit of those who violate the Stark Law and we strongly encourage whistleblowers to come forward.”

The allegations stemmed from a period between March 2012 and May 2019, according to a statement from Weirton Medical Center, and were connected to the hospital’s prior management firm. The statement added that firm also was the prior management firm for Wheeling Hospital before WVU Medicine took over. In September 2020, Wheeling Hospital agreed to pay the U.S. Department of Justice $50 million to settle allegations of False Claims Act violations.

“Following the United States government’s lawsuit against Wheeling Hospital, WMC terminated the contract with its management consultant and conducted an independent internal investigation to address any related concerns. WMC voluntarily cooperated with the US Department of Justice in its investigation and we greatly appreciate the DOJ’s efforts in resolving this matter,” stated John Frankovitch, WMC President and CEO.