Sumter, S.C.-based Tuomey Healthcare System must pay the $237 million judgment previously entered against it in a False Claims Act case after a three-judge panel of the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously upheld the district court's ruling Thursday.
In May 2013, a jury found Tuomey violated Stark Law and the False Claims Act by submitting $39 million in false claims to Medicare and compensating physicians for referrals. As a result, a $237 million judgment was entered against Tuomey.
The system appealed the ruling, and the appeals court said Tuomey wasn't entitled to a new trial or a judgment as a matter of law.
After losing the appeal, Tuomey President and CEO Michelle Logan-Owens said she was disappointed with the outcome but that Tuomey would "stand firm in its resolve to continue its mission," according to The Sumter Item.
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