Quest Diagnostics has paid more than $13 million to resolve allegations that it provided illegal kickbacks to health care providers and executives in the form of New York Giants tickets and access to exclusive events, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Jersey.
U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer said Friday that the operator of the clinical laboratory, based in Secaucus, New Jersey, offered its clients seats in the Giants suite and access to training camp in exchange for business referrals.
Frazer said Quest violated the anti-kickback statute, which prohibits offering, soliciting or accepting payment to encourage the use of services or items covered by Medicare, Medicaid and other federally funded health programs.
“Kickbacks to referral providers, especially by laboratory companies, corrupt medical judgment, lead to unnecessary laboratory tests, cause providers to refer patients to laboratories that offer incentives, and waste taxpayer dollars,” Frazer said in a statement.
The settlement resolves allegations that, between July 25, 2013 and August 3, 2022, Quest violated the Kickback Statute and that the company submitted false claims for laboratory services paid for by Medicare and New York and New Jersey Medicaid, officials said.
In 2013, Quest entered into a naming rights and sponsorship deal with the New York Giants. As part of the deal, the Giants provided suites to Quest for home games at MetLife Stadium. The company also received various marketing, business programming and hospitality benefits, according to prosecutors.
Quest then gave customers free access to suite seats at Giants home games, VIP training camp, draft “chalk” presentations and NFL scouting events, according to officials.
After inviting customers to games and events, Quest calculated how much revenue it earned up to a year after entertaining them, officials said. In addition, the company then billed Medicare, as well as New York and New Jersey Medicaid, for requests for laboratory tests it received from customers, prosecutors said.
The New York Giants organization, based in New Jersey, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Under the settlement, Quest is also required to enter into a five-year corporate integrity agreement with the Department of Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General, requiring the company to use an independent review organization to audit the company.
A Quest spokesperson said the company denies any allegations of wrongdoing or violations of the law, but agreed to the settlement to “put the matter behind us.”
“We adhere to a policy of strict compliance with the laws and regulations governing our business,” spokeswoman Amanda Rivera said in a statement. “Since last year, we have shared information about this settlement, which includes a corporate integrity agreement, with the public through our regulatory filings. In many respects, the CIA mirrors our existing rigorous compliance program, and we are complying with its requirements.”
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