Tenet Healthcare Corp. (NYSE: THC) said Monday that it believes it has reached an agreement in principle with the government to resolve a long-running criminal investigation and civil litigation about a kick-back scandal involving an Atlanta medical clinic and three of the company’s Atlanta-area hospitals.
Dallas-based Tenet said it has agreed to pay $514 million, has agreed to the appointment by the U.S. Department of Justice of a corporate monitor for a period of three years, and has agreed for two wholly owned subsidiaries that previously operated Atlanta Medical Center and North Fulton Hospital to each plead guilty to a single-count indictment. The settlement will be with the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices for the Northern and Middle Districts of Georgia, and the Georgia Attorney General’s Office.
“The agreement in principle contemplates, among other things, payment by the company of $513,788,345, which is comprised of a civil monetary payment of $368,000,000 and a criminal monetary payment of $145,788,345,” Tenet reported Monday.
The company’s two subsidiaries will plead guilty to a single count of conspiracy to violate the federal anti-kickback statute and defraud the United States, Tenet reported.
HENRY KOTULA 