New York-Presbyterian Hospital and Park Slope Medicine P.C., in New York City agreed to pay $17.3 million to settle false claims allegations over “improper arrangements” with physicians at the hospital’s infusion center, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York said March 12.^[1] The government allegedly connected the dots from the physicians’ compensation to the volume or value of their referrals for chemotherapy, infusion and other items and services.

The settlement also resolved allegations there wasn’t enough physician supervision of nonphysician practitioners (NPPs) who were providing chemotherapy and other infusions, the U.S. attorney’s office said.

The settlement stemmed from an April 2016 self-disclosure to the HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG). “It’s a vanilla settlement” except for the fact “the dollars are big” and the self-disclosure is eight years old, said Robert Trusiak, an attorney in Buffalo, New York.