The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Thursday that Athenahealth (Athena) will pay $18.25 million to resolve kickback allegations. The case was unsealed on the same day.
The U.S., on behalf of two separate sets of complainants, alleged that Athena violated the False Claims Act and federal Anti-Kickback Statute through its conduct in marketing programs for its electronic health records (EHR) technology. Geordie Sanborn was the complainant of the first suit, while Cheryl Lovell and William McKusick brought the other suit, with the U.S. becoming the plaintiff on behalf of the individuals through the False Claims Act’s (FCA) “whistleblower” provisions.
The plaintiffs claimed that Athena provided possible and current customers free tickets to various events, such as the Masters Tournament, Kentucky Derby, and other events, along with free amenities, accommodations, meals, and alcohol, according to the DOJ. The agency also alleged that Athena designed a program that paid up to $3,000 to existing customers for each new customer they recruited, and made payments to EHR vendors discontinuing their technology if they referred clients to Athena.
“If the benefits of Electronic Health Records are to be fully realized, patients must be confident providers have selected the most effective system — not the one paying the largest kickbacks. Time and again, we’ve seen fraudulent activity undermine the integrity of medical decisions, subvert the health marketplace, and waste taxpayer dollars,” Special Agent in Charge for the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Phillip M. Coyne said in the DOJ release. “We will continue to hold accountable those who provide illegal incentives in order to influence the decision-making of health care providers.”
In a statement provided to Law Street Media, a spokesperson for Athenahealth said “athenahealth places the highest priority on compliance with all laws and regulations governing our industry. Our dedicated employees work every day to create a thriving ecosystem that delivers accessible, high quality, and sustainable healthcare for all, through innovative products and services on an interconnected network of more than 160,000 healthcare providers and 100 million patients. We do so ethically and with integrity—values that are integral to our company’s culture. While we have full confidence in our robust compliance policies and programs, we agreed to this settlement—under which we admit no wrongdoing—to put this matter behind us and move forward with our critical work on behalf of patients and healthcare providers.”