{"id":43047,"date":"2021-06-15T08:38:49","date_gmt":"2021-06-15T15:38:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=43047"},"modified":"2021-06-15T08:38:49","modified_gmt":"2021-06-15T15:38:49","slug":"feds-file-lawsuit-against-california-nursing-chain-for-allegedly-giving-kickbacks-to-doctors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=43047","title":{"rendered":"Feds File Lawsuit Against California Nursing Chain for Allegedly Giving Kickbacks to Doctors"},"content":{"rendered":"

CALIFORNIA<\/span><\/h1>\n
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Federal prosecutors filed a complaint under the False Claims Act against Paksn Inc.; Prema Thekkek, one of its owners; and seven skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) owned by Thekkek and\/or operated by Paksn. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Photo: Nursinghomes.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Those seven SNFs are Bay Point Healthcare Center, Gateway Care & Rehabilitation Center, Hayward Convalescent Hospital, Hilltop Care & Rehabilitation Center, Martinez Convalescent Hospital, Park Central Care & Rehabilitation Hospital, and Yuba Skilled Nursing Center.<\/span><\/p>\n

The defendants allegedly entered into “medical directorship agreements” with certain doctors to give compensation for administrative services, according to officials.\u00a0 In reality, officials said there were “vehicles for the payments of kickbacks to induce the physicians to refer patients to seven SNFs.”<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The Anti-Kickback Statute prohibits offering or paying anything of value to encourage the referral of items or services covered by federal health care programs.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The matter was brought to light by a whistleblower under the federal statutes.<\/span><\/p>\n

The defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty<\/span><\/p>\n

Specifically, federal prosecutors allege that defendants hired certain physicians who promised in advance to refer a large number of patients to the SNFs, paid physicians in proportion to the number of expected referrals, and terminated physicians who did not refer enough patients. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>On one occasion, a Paksn employee told Thekkek that two physicians were being hired because \u201cthey are promising at least 10 patients for $2000 per month,\u201d officials allege.<\/span><\/p>\n

On another, Thekkek complained that if Paksn\u2019s employees did not pay medical directors promptly every month, \u201c[t]hese doctors will not give us patients.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

On a third occasion, a Paksn employee told Thekkek that because \u201clately there are no real referrals\u201d from one of the medical directors, \u201ci am planning to say goodbye to him,\u201d according to authorities.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIllegal financial arrangements with physicians can improperly influence the type and amount of health care that is provided to patients,\u201d said Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton of the Justice Department\u2019s Civil Division. \u201cThe department is committed to redressing the corrupting influence of kickbacks on the medical decision\u2011making of providers participating in federal health care programs.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe payment of kickbacks to physicians for referrals turns patients into commodities that can be traded,\u201d said Acting U.S. Attorney Tracy L. Wilkison for the Central District of California. \u201cProfits should not dictate medical decisions, which is why it is illegal to pay for referrals that can cloud physicians\u2019 medical judgment.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The lawsuit was initially filed in December 2015 by Trilochan Singh, who was previously employed as Paksn\u2019s Vice President of Operations and Chief Operating Officer, under the whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act. <\/span><\/p>\n

Those provisions authorize private parties to sue on behalf of the United States for false claims and share in any recovery, according to officials. <\/span><\/p>\n

The Act permits the United States to intervene and take over the lawsuit, as it has done here in part. Those who violate the Act are subject to treble damages and applicable penalties. The case is captioned\u00a0United States of America ex rel. Trilochan Singh v. Paksn, Inc. et al.<\/em>, No. 15\u2011cv-09064 (C.D. Cal.).<\/span><\/p>\n

The United States\u2019 intervention in this matter illustrates the government\u2019s emphasis on combating health care fraud. <\/span><\/p>\n

One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Tips and complaints from all sources about potential fraud, waste, abuse and mismanagement can be reported to the Department of Health and Human Services, at 800-HHS-TIPS (800-447-8477).<\/span><\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CALIFORNIA Federal prosecutors filed a complaint under the False Claims Act against Paksn Inc.; Prema Thekkek, one of its owners; and seven skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) owned by Thekkek and\/or operated by…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1073,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43047","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-u-s-department-of-justice"],"yoast_head":"\nFeds File Lawsuit Against California Nursing Chain for Allegedly Giving Kickbacks to Doctors<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"CALIFORNIA Federal prosecutors filed a complaint under the False Claims Act against Paksn Inc.; Prema Thekkek, one of its owners; and seven skilled\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=43047\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Feds File Lawsuit Against California Nursing Chain for Allegedly Giving Kickbacks to Doctors\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"CALIFORNIA Federal prosecutors filed a complaint under the False Claims Act against Paksn Inc.; 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