Quest Diagnostics pays $13M to settle kickback allegations involving NY Giants tickets

Prominent lab-testing company Quest Diagnostics has paid the federal government $13 million to settle a lawsuit alleging that it submitted false claims to Medicare and Medicaid through client referrals obtained in exchange for exclusive access to Giants games at MetLife Stadium, according to the Bergen Record. The company was accused of knowingly and willfully enticing health care providers and other influential people with valuable and exclusive entertainment at MetLife from July 2013 to August 2022, the U.S. Attorney's Office for New Jersey said in a Nov 6 statement discussing the settlement, as reported by the Bergen Record. Quest then allegedly submitted false claims for lab services, which were paid for by the taxpayer-funded federal health insurance program Medicare, as well as Medicaid programs in New York and New Jersey.

The Justice Department investigated Quest on charges that the company violated the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, a law prohibiting people from benefiting by inducing referrals to federal health care programs. Clients received free tickets to Giants games, access to suites at MetLife Stadium to watch the team's games, free food, alcohol, viewings of practice sessions and training camps from a dedicated VIP section, and autograph opportunities.

According to the Bergen Record, U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer stated that kickbacks to referring providers, especially by lab companies, corrupt medical judgment, lead to unnecessary lab testing, cause providers to steer patients to labs that offer inducements, and squander taxpayer money. The government was committed to enforcing the law and protecting taxpayer dollars and the Medicare and Medicaid programs from fraud, waste, and abuse, he said. The $13 million payout settled a lawsuit and did not determine liability on Quest's part, the government said, though the settlement agreement did not rule out a future criminal probe.

Quest, which sponsors the Giants training center, said it conducted the MetLife events legally and that it agreed to the settlement only to put an end to the matter. Company spokesperson Wendy Best stated that they wholeheartedly deny these allegations and that the settlement contains no determination of liability. Best said that the Giants events were conducted transparently and their compliance department took steps to monitor and oversee them. Although they deny any allegations of wrongdoing or violation of the law, Best noted they agreed to a settlement with the government more than a year ago to put the matter behind them. She also stated that a corporate integrity agreement, which the company was required to enter into as part of the settlement, mirrors its own rules with which it complies.

Private whistleblowers filed the lawsuit, whose investigation involved agents from the FBI's field office in Newark, the U.S. Attorney's Office in New Jersey, and the federal Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Inspector General. Quest signed a contract with the New York Giants in 2013, gaining access to suites at MetLife Stadium to watch home games and other marketing, commercial programming, and hospitality benefits, the U.S. Attorney Office said. Around $2.4 million of the settlement went to Gerard Abate, MD, Lori Anderson, and Douglas S. Rabin, MD, who were legally entitled to a portion of the payout under the whistleblower section of the False Claims Act, a federal law that penalizing people or companies who make fraudulent claims for payments from the U.S. government.