AG James today secured over $616,000 from New York-Presbyterian Hudson Valley Hospital (HVH) for violating the law by making illegal kickback payments to a Westchester County oncology practice in exchange for its doctors allegedly referring approximately 114 patients to the hospital. A joint investigation between the Office of the Attorney General’s (OAG) Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) and the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) revealed that from January 2011 through December 2019, HVH and its predecessor, Hudson Valley Hospital Center, paid millions of dollars to the oncology practice, which then referred its patients for oncology services at the hospitals. Under a settlement with OAG and SDNY, HVH will pay over $616,000 in damages for false claims to New York’s Medicaid program. 

“New Yorkers should be able to trust that their doctors are making decisions based on their best interests, not financial incentives. HVH’s illegal kickback scheme undermined cancer patients’ critical relationships with their health care providers. I will continue to go after illegal financial schemes that corrupt our health care system and prevent patients from getting the care they deserve.” – AG Jame