RivCo Skilled Nursing Facility Paid Kickbacks To Local Doctors: CA OAG

RIVERSIDE, CA — A $3.8 million settlement agreement has been reached over allegations that a Riverside County skilled nursing facility paid illegal kickbacks to doctors as part of a fraud scheme, state officials announced Wednesday.

Alta Vista Healthcare & Wellness Centre on Garfield Street in Riverside, along with its management company, Los Angeles-based Rockport Healthcare Services, are accused of violating the federal Anti-Kickback Statute and False Claims Act, as well as the California False Claims Act, by paying illegal kickbacks to doctors for referrals of Medicaid and Medi-Cal patients to Alta Vista.

State and federal investigators found evidence that from January 2009 through December 2019, Rockport and Alta Vista paid the kickbacks — in the form of cash, gifts and salaries — to certain Riverside-area doctors. The referrals resulted in millions of dollars in Medicare and Medi-Cal reimbursement to Alta Vista and Rockport, according to California Attorney General Rob Bonta who worked with the U.S. Department of Justice in the investigation.

"Decisions that affect patient health should be made solely on the basis of a patient's best interest," Bonta said in a released statement. "When a healthcare company cheats and offers kickbacks to gain an unfair advantage, it jeopardizes the health and well-being of those who rely on its services. These illegal schemes also make public services and programs costlier, and ultimately waste valuable taxpayer dollars. Today, I thank the U.S. Department of Justice for teaming up with the California Department of Justice on this case. This settlement demonstrates our commitment to protecting the integrity of Medi-Cal, and the taxpayer dollars that support the program."

As part of the settlement agreement, the federal government will receive $2.8 million and California will receive $596,700, based on the proportion of losses to state and federal funds, Bonta's office announced. According to the agreement, it is not an admission of liability by Alta Vista or Rockport.

"Kickbacks can impair the independence of physician decision-making and waste taxpayer dollars," said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the U.S. Justice Department's Civil Division. "The Department is committed to preventing illegal financial relationships that undermine the integrity of our public healthcare programs."