DOJ orders DaVita to pay $34M over alleged dialysis center kickback scheme

DaVita, a multi-state dialysis provider, agreed to pay more than $34 million to resolve allegations it engaged in numerous kickback schemes to doctors who referred Medicare patients to its dialysis centers, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced.

DaVita will pay more than $17 million in restitution as part of the penalty total for alleged violations of the False Claims Act, according to its settlement agreement, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado.

The case resolves claims brought under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act by DaVita’s former Chief Operating Officer Dennis Kogod, who will receive more than $6.3 million of the settlement total, the DOJ announced in a press release Thursday.