Company settles MRI scam lawsuit
A company with several suburban locations has settled a lawsuit with the Illinois attorney general that alleged it administered medical tests and then gave the equivalent of kickbacks to referring doctors.
MIDI, LLC and 14 affiliated Open Advanced MRI Centers will pay $1.2 million to settle the lawsuit, which claimed the companies, had sham "lease" agreements with referring doctors. The companies, which specialize in MRIs and CT scans, would charge the doctors a reduced rate for the tests, and then the doctors charged patients full price, pocketing the difference, the suit alleged. The settlement admits no wrongdoing.
"When patients are referred to MRI facilities, they should be able to feel confident that the referrals were made for medical reasons only," Attorney General Lisa Madigan said in a prepared statement.
The practice was brought to light by a whistle-blower, John Donaldson, who filed suit in 2006. Madigan joined the suit in 2007. Donaldson's lawyers could not be reached for comment. The state will receive $840,000 of the settlement amount, and Donaldson the rest.
MIDI and Open Advanced MRI did not return phone calls. The centers in question included locations in Crystal Lake, Wheaton, Round Lake Beach, Westmont, and Schaumburg.
MIDI is not the first company Madigan has settled lawsuits with regarding allegations of quasi-kickbacks. She alleged that several other companies also arranged for some financial reward for doctors who referred patients, said spokeswoman Robyn Ziegler. Those companies and their settlement amounts are: Rand Imaging Center, LLC in Arlington Heights for $11,046; Central States Imaging Center, LLC in Lake in the Hills for $56,817; and Gurnee Radiology Center, LLC in Gurnee and Libertyville for $140,907. The settlements, like MIDI's, admit no wrongdoing.
Madigan also filed suit against open MRI and Nydic Open MRI of Westchester, which operated centers in Buffalo Grove and Westchester, but the companies have since closed their doors and sold assets, Madigan's office said.