Florida to get $5.6 million in kickback settlement

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) – Florida is going to receive $5.6 million from DaVita HealthCare Partners as part of a national settlement.

Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the settlement on Wednesday.

Bondi said the settlement resolves allegations that DaVita paid illegal kickbacks to in order to get patients sent to its dialysis clinics. The referrals caused false claims to be submitted to the state’s Medicaid health care program.

DaVita is headquartered in Denver, Colorado, and has dialysis clinics in 46 states and the District of Columbia.

The settlement came out of a lawsuit that contended that between 2005 and 2014 DaVita offered financial incentives to physicians who referred patients to dialysis clinics.

In October, DaVita agreed to pay $389 million to settle a federal investigation.