Tenet Healthcare, federal agencies reach settlement

Tenet Healthcare Corp. has reached a broad settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice and other federal agencies following investigations into Tenet’s receipt of certain Medicare outlier payments before 2003, physician financial arrangements, and Medicare coding issues. Under the terms of the settlement, Tenet will pay restitution of $725 million over 4 years plus interest, and has agreed to waive its right to pursue receipt of $175 million in certain Medicare payments for past services.

The settlement will conclude all federal investigations conducted by the Department of Justice and the U.S. attorneys with no finding that Tenet had engaged in illegal behavior.