CA-AG v. Prime Healthcare Services

Prime Healthcare Services, Dr. Prem Reddy, and Dr. Siva Arunasalam allegedly violated the False Claims Act and the California False Claims Act. Prime allegedly paid kickbacks when it intentionally overpaid to purchase Dr. Arunasalam’s physician practice and surgery center because the company wanted Dr. Arunasalam to refer patients to its Desert Valley Hospital in Victorville, California. Prime also allegedly knowingly overcompensated the doctor for the same purpose when HDHVI entered into an employment agreement with him; HDHVI and Dr. Arunasalam allegedly used Dr. Arunasalam’s billing number to bill Medicare and Medi-Cal for services that were provided by Dr. George Ponce, even though they knew Dr. Ponce’s Medicare and Medi-Cal billing privileges had been revoked; and Prime hospitals allegedly billed Medi-Cal, the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, and the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs for false claims based on inflated invoices for implantable medical hardware, according to CA-AG.

Summary generated from official California Attorney General press release