Healthcare FMV Advisors News & Updates

The OIG alleged that United and certain physician-investors used their ability to control patient referrals to obtain contract business from various hospitals. Specifically, United threatened hospitals that it would refer patients to competing hospitals if the respective hospital did not agree to a contract with United, or promised hospitals that did contract with United additional referrals. The relationships between United's physician-investors and the hospitals raised Stark concerns regarding the financial relationships between United's physician-investors and the hospitals to which they made referrals. Also, United sold more shares to physicians who produced more referrals or other business for the company. United had processes for having physicians divest if they did not use United's services sufficiently and offered huge returns on investment with virtually no business risk.