Moffitt Cancer Center Agrees To Pay $19.5M In Lawsuit: U.S. DOJ

TAMPA, FL — H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute has agreed to pay more than $19.5 million in a lawsuit over improper billing for clinical trial costs between 2014 and 2020, according to a U.S. Department of Justice news release.

The Tampa-based nonprofit cancer treatment and research center agreed to the payment to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act for billing federal health care programs for clinical research studies that were ineligible for reimbursement.

Moffitt improperly billed Medicare and other federal programs as part of research trials that should have been billed to non-government trial sponsors, according to the lawsuit.

After learning of these issues, Moffitt initiated an independent investigation and compliance review and voluntarily provided the government with a written disclosure of its findings, the DOJ said.

The cancer center cooperated with the government during its investigation of the allegations made against it “and implemented prompt and substantial remedial measures,” the agency said.

The federal share of the settlement is approximately $18.2 million and the state Medicaid share of the settlement is approximately $1.3 million.

“Healthcare providers participating in federal healthcare programs must ensure that they comply with applicable rules and regulations, including those relating to the submission of claims in connection with clinical research,” Brian M. Boynton, principal deputy assistant attorney general and head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division, said. “As (this) settlement reflects, when providers run afoul of their obligations, they can mitigate the consequences by making timely self-disclosures, cooperating with investigations and taking appropriate remedial measures.”