The Whistleblower Institute announces that CHRISTUS St. Vincent Regional Medical Center and CHRISTUS Health reached a $12.24 million settlement in a whistleblower lawsuit.

San Diego, CA -- (SBWire) -- 10/10/2017 --The Whistleblower Institute announces that CHRISTUS St. Vincent Regional Medical Center and CHRISTUS Health reached a $12.24 million settlement in a whistleblower lawsuit filed by a former Los Alamos County, New Mexico Indigent Healthcare Administrator over Medicaid payments and allegations that the hospital violated the False Claims Act.

Those who have a similar case or experienced a similar situation or any other wrongdoing within a corporation have certain options and should contact the Whistleblower Institute at mail@whistleblowerinstitute.com or call: 619-452–1218. There are no costs or obligations to you.

A settlement has been reached to resolve False Claims Act allegations against CHRISTUS St. Vincent Regional Medical Center and CHRISTUS Health.

The allegations arose from a lawsuit that claimed CHRISTUS St. Vincent Regional Medical Center and CHRISTUS Health violated the False Claims Act by making illegal donations to county governments, which were used to fund the state share of Medicaid payments to the hospital.

According to the government, CHRISTUS St. Vincent Regional Medical Center and CHRISTUS Health allegedly made illegal payments in 2001-2009 to county governments that were used to pay for New Mexico's portion of Medicaid payments to Christus.

Under New Mexico's Sole Community Provider program, supplemental Medicaid funds were provided to rural hospitals. The federal government reimbursed New Mexico for about 75 percent of its payments under the SCP program, while New Mexico's 25 percent "matching" share of payments had to come from state or county funds. This excluded donations from private hospitals. The program ended in 2014.

"Protecting the integrity of the Medicaid program is crucial because millions of Americans, including hundreds of thousands of New Mexicans, depend on the program for medical care and related services," said Acting U.S. Attorney James D. Tierney for the District of New Mexico. "This case illustrates our commitment to ensuring that government funds are legally obtained and used for their intended purposes. We will use all available civil remedies to recover the ill-gotten gains obtained by those who defraud government health care programs."

Reportedly, this settlement resolves allegations originally brought in a lawsuit filed by a former Los Alamos County, New Mexico Indigent Healthcare Administrator.

The whistleblowers' share of the settlement will be $2.249 million.

Based in Santa Fe, New Mexico CHRISTUS St. Vincent Regional Medical Center is a general hospital. The hospital is the oldest in the State of New Mexico, since being established in the downtown plaza before it was moved in 1977 to developing St. Michaels Drive.

The Whistleblower Institute is an information portal for current or former employees and other people having insight information about wrongdoing and other illegal activities by individuals either individually or within corporations, through company culture and or within international affairs. Whistleblowers should keep in mind that under the Dodd-Frank Act any person who provides the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") with original information that leads to a successful enforcement action with over $1 million recovered must be awarded between 10%-30% of the total amount recovered. In order to determine the total amount of the reward there are numerous factors that need to be considered. Whistleblower actions are complex and our goal is to guide any whistleblower every step of the way. The Whistleblower Institute is dedicated to partnering with any individual who have information about fraud and we work with many of the best law firms worldwide.

Those who have a similar case or experienced a similar situation or any other wrongdoing within a corporation have certain options and should contact the Whistleblower Institute.

Contact:
Whistleblower Institute
2534 State Street - Suite 406
San Diego, CA 92101, USA
Phone: +1 (619) 452–1218
Facsimile: +1 (619) 785 – 3185
Email: mail@whistleblowerinstitute.com

The material was prepared by the Whistleblower Institute for informational purposes only and is not legal or financial advice. The information is provided only as general information which may or may not reflect the most currently available public information, is not provided as a basis for any established or existing relationship, and is not intended to constitute legal or financial advice, or to substitute for obtaining such advice from an attorney or other advisor licensed in your state.