After nine years, the U.S. Department of Justice has announced a settlement with Indiana-based Community Health Network (Community) for $345 million concerning healthcare fraud claims on Medicare spanning 2008 to 2020.

The settlement comes after finance and operations executive Thomas Fischer turned whistleblower and sued his former employer, Community. Fischer’s fraud complaint included allegations that Community violated the federal Stark Law, which prohibits payments of any kind — including inflated salaries — to physicians to influence where they treat or refer patients.

The DOJ supported Fischer, intervening in 2019 with its own complaint, alleging Community illegally paid physicians inflated salaries. Its complaint described the physicians’ excessive salaries as a “defensive” tool used to recruit physicians to “secure their referrals.”
The $345 million settlement is reportedly nearly triple the largest prior Stark Law False Claims Act settlement. Community must also comply with a Corporate Integrity Agreement, ensuring five years of continual monitoring by the government.

“I am grateful for this recovery," said Fischer in a statement. "These claims are not mere technicalities; they directly affect patients, hospital employees and the high cost of healthcare. This puts money back into the healthcare system and is a victory for the Indiana taxpayer.”

This is the second settlement with recidivist offender Community; the first was 2015 for $20.3 million.

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