Quest Pays $88.7K to Settle Specimen Collection Fee Kickback Charges Against Its Subsidiary
Case: After self-disclosing, Quest has settled kickback claims against its wholly-owned subsidiary, Quest Diagnostics TB LLC, for $88,780. The OIG alleges that from June 2011 to December 2016, the lab that was then known as Oxford Immunotec, Inc. (OI) made improper payments to physicians and physician groups in the form of blood sample collection, processing and handling fees. Quest acquired OI in December 2018. Significance: The OIG has repeatedly reminded labs that sample collection and processing fees raise bright red flags under the Anti-kickback Statute. See Lab Compliance Advisor, (LCA), Dec. 10, 2018. Considering the penalties imposed on other labs for paying collection fees, most notably HDL, and the fact that the alleged scheme in this case lasted over five years, $88.7K is a fairly light penalty and testimony to the wisdom Quest displayed in self-disclosing the conduct.
Case: After self-disclosing, Quest has settled kickback claims against its wholly-owned subsidiary, Quest Diagnostics TB LLC, for $88,780. The OIG alleges that from June 2011 to December 2016, the lab that was then known as Oxford Immunotec, Inc. (OI) made improper payments to physicians and physician groups in the form of blood sample collection, processing and handling fees. Quest acquired OI in December 2018.
Significance: The OIG has repeatedly reminded labs that sample collection and processing fees raise bright red flags under the Anti-kickback Statute. See Lab Compliance Advisor, (LCA), Dec. 10, 2018. Considering the penalties imposed on other labs for paying collection fees, most notably HDL, and the fact that the alleged scheme in this case lasted over five years, $88.7K is a fairly light penalty and testimony to the wisdom Quest displayed in self-disclosing the conduct.
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