West Virginia hospital settles whistleblower suit for $50M

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A financially strapped West Virginia hospital has agreed to pay the federal government $50 million to resolve claims that it improperly issued payments and kickbacks to physicians under the direction of management, the U.S. Justice Department announced Wednesday.

The Justice Department announced the settlement involving Wheeling Hospital stemming from a whistleblower complaint filed in 2017 by Louis Longo, a former hospital executive vice president. Longo was allowed to share in the proceeds of the lawsuit and will receive $10 million, the department said in a statement.

Longo’s lawsuit was filed in 2017 and unsealed in December 2018, when the Justice Department intervened. He asserted the Catholic hospital’s physician compensation violated federal law by improperly paying millions in excessive compensation based on the volume or value of patient referrals.

Some physicians received compensation totaling more than $1 million a year under the system, according to the complaint.

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