Tenet Healthcare was ordered to pay $900 million over a four year period from 2006, starting with the first $450 million paid immediately plus another $20 million in interest payments due. The whistleblowers in the case received $225 million for their role in assisting the government in recognizing the fraud and bringing the crime at Tenet Healthcare to light.
Tenet, the nations second largest healthcare provider, was found guilty of inflating its charges to patients substantially, before submitting claims to Medicare for reimbursement. Additionally they were paying kickbacks, or bonuses to doctors in order to encourage them to direct more patients to their facilities. This is an illegal activity which neither doctors nor the service provider are allowed to engage in. Additionally, Tenet was found guilty of upcoding patient bills, which is a term used to refer to marking a patient down for a higher cost set of services than they actually received during their visit. The company was found guilty of these charges in accordance with the nation's False Claims Act.
Additional information on this case can be found at http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=13825