ONTARIO – (INT) – One of the nation’s largest hospital systems based in Ontario has agreed to a multi-million dollar settlement over false claims.

The Prime Healthcare Services system has paid $33.7 million to the federal government and the state of California.

Prime’s founder and CEO Dr. Prem Reddy and interventional cardiologist Dr. Siva Arunasalam will pay a combined total of $3,775,000.

Prime and Dr. Reddy paid $65 million to settle previous allegations of false claims and overbilling in 2018.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta said “The settlement should send a message that schemes like those alleged here, which put profits before people and seek to defraud our Medi-Cal program, will not be taken lightly.”

Story Date: July 24, 2021