New Jersey-based Silver Lake Hospital agreed to pay more than $18.6 million as part of a settlement with the Department of Justice (DOJ) addressing allegations of false claims submitted to Medicare for inpatient cost outlier payments.
The settlement, announced Tuesday by the DOJ, also resolves allegations Silver Lake violated the Federal Debt Collection Procedures Act (FDCPA) regarding the transfer of millions of dollars in the hospital’s money to investors without receiving equivalent value in return. As a result, Silver Lake’s principal investor and a Florida-based fund manager that serves the hospital’s investors agreed to pay $12 million in restitution.
The entire Silver Lake settlement amount is also restitution, according to the settlement agreement.
The details: From April 2018 to March 2023, Silver Lake violated the False Claims Act through its submission of false claims to Medicare by rapidly increasing its charges for inpatient care so that the charges did not reasonably reflect the hospital’s actual costs, according to the DOJ. The hospital avoided its obligation to adequately reimburse Medicare for excessive cost outlier payments received, the agency added.
Regarding the FDCPA allegations, Silver Lake, from April 2020 to March 2023, distributed funds to investors for less than reasonably equivalent value when it should have had reason to believe it would not be able to repay its debts to Medicare, the DOJ said.
The settlement does not include any determination of liability. Silver Lake did not respond to a request for comment.
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