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Press Release

South Miami Hospital Agrees to Pay the United States $12 Million to Settle False Claims Act Allegations

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Florida

South Miami Hospital, a not-for-profit regional hospital located in South Miami, Florida has agreed to pay the United States approximately $12 million to settle allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by submitting false claims to federal healthcare programs for medically unnecessary electrophysiology studies and other procedures allegedly performed by John R. Dylewski, M.D., at South Miami Hospital. 

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Shimon R. Richmond, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), Miami Region, John F. Khin, Special Agent in Charge, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), Southeast Field Office, and Scott Rezendes, Special Agent in Charge, Office of Personnel Management, Office of Inspector General (OPM-OIG), made the announcement.

“This settlement shows our continued resolve to pursue institutional providers who turn a blind eye to the systematic overutilization of medical procedures and inflated billing practices resulting in significantly increased costs to the federal government,” said Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida.

“This settlement highlights the commitment of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) and its law enforcement partners to protect the integrity of the Department of Defense (DoD) health care program known as TRICARE,” said DCIS Special Agent in Charge John F. Khin.  “DCIS aggressively investigates health care providers that defraud the DoD, to preserve American taxpayer dollars intended to care for our warfighters, their family members, and military retirees.”

“Performing medically unnecessary heart procedures is shocking to the conscience,” said Shimon R. Richmond, HHS-OIG Miami Special Agent in Charge. “Conducting cardiac catheterizations purely for profit, not patient care, seriously breaches the “do no harm” commitment physicians pledge. Together with our law enforcement partners, we will seek out, stop these practices and protect the Medicare patients who are victimized by physicians participating in these schemes.”

“It is absolutely unconscionable that anyone in the medical profession would place profit above a patient’s health and well-being,” said OPM-OIG Special Agent in Charge Rezendes.  “We remain firmly committed to ensuring that Federal employees, annuitants, and their families are protected and that such unscrupulous behavior is identified and stopped.”

The allegations arose from a lawsuit filed by two whistleblowers, James A. Burks, M.D., and James D. Davenport, M.D., under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act.  Relator Burks is a board-certified vascular surgeon and medical doctor who began his practice as a vascular surgeon at South Miami Hospital in 2003.  Relator Davenport is a board-certified cardiologist and medical doctor, who was an active member of various peer review committees at South Miami Hospital between 2010 and 2014.  Under the False Claims Act, private citizens can bring suit on behalf of the government for false claims and share in any recovery.  Drs. Burks and Davenport will receive approximately $ 2,748,500 from the recovery announced today.

According to court documents, plaintiffs claimed to have personal knowledge of Dr. Dylewski and South Miami Hospital engaging in a number of unnecessary cardiac procedures, including echocardiograms, electrophysiology studies, head upright tilt tests, and other treatments of arrhythmia by ablation, cryoablation, or implantation of an electronic device, for the sole purpose of increasing the amount of physician and hospital reimbursements paid by Medicare and other federally-funded programs. 

The settlement was the result of a coordinated effort by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, HHS-OIG, DCIS, and OPM-OIG.  The case was investigated and the settlement negotiated by Assistant U.S. Attorney John C. Spaccarotella.

The case is captioned United States of America ex. rel. James A. Burks, M.D. and James D. Davenport, M.D. v. John R. Dylewski, M.D., et al., Case No. 14-CV-22079 (S.D. Fla.).  The claims settled by the lawsuit are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

Updated December 7, 2016

Topic
Health Care Fraud