To bring an end to a doctor kickback lawsuit that has dragged on for years, Quest Diagnostics has agreed to pay a $6 million settlement.

The doctor kickback lawsuit was aimed at Berkeley HeartLab Inc., a company acquired by Quest that allegedly gave out kickbacks to doctors who referred patients for blood testing. Quest acquired Berkeley HeartLab Inc. back in 2011, by which point the doctor kickback lawsuit had actually already been filed against Berkeley HeartLab by a whistleblower.

According to the doctor kickback lawsuit, the lab paid physicians to refer patients for blood testing, which led to doctors sending people to get bloodwork done that wasn’t actually necessary. The whistleblower alleged that the doctor kickback practices were disguised on paper by being referred to as “process and handling” fees.

After acquiring the lab, Quest put an end to these kickbacks. The doctor kickback lawsuit, however, continued on for years.

At one point around a year ago, the parties told the court they were nearing a settlement agreement and needed to fine-tune some details.

“This settlement is part of the government’s ongoing efforts to address conduct that allows medical decisions to be influenced by money rather than the best interests of patients,” said U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips in a statement. “Our office is pleased to defend the integrity of our health care system and to demand the return of ill-gotten gains.”

While the portion of the settlement going to the whistleblower, Michael M., has not yet been determined, it is likely to be substantial. Generally, whistleblowers are awarded between 15 and 30 percent of the settlement money for their part in alerting the government.

Filing a Doctor Kickback Lawsuit

The government often relies on the help of whistleblowers to report and expose healthcare fraud. Whistleblowers are usually employees or former employees of companies, and report illegal activities against the government, including healthcare fraud such as illegal doctor kickbacks.

A whistleblower’s role is very important, as they call attention to healthcare fraud on behalf of the government. It can be intimidating for an employee to blow the whistle on a current employer. Indeed, many employees are afraid that, by starting a whistleblower lawsuit, they will bring their employer’s ire and may even be fired.

However, there are laws in place to protect whistleblowers from these kinds of discriminatory actions. The government wants to protect whistleblowers that expose fraudulent activity.

As a reward, a whistleblower is generally given a substantial chunk of the settlement money from the lawsuit, as there would have been no lawsuit without the whistleblower first exposing the fraud. Whistleblowers are often given between 15 and 30 percent of the settlement money from a healthcare fraud lawsuit.

If you believe that your current or former employer is participating or has participated in healthcare fraud like doctor kickbacks or other fraudulent behavior against the government, you may be able to become a whistleblower and call attention to this problem on behalf of the federal government. However, you must consult with an attorney and not report through a hotline to retain your rights.