The Health Diagnostics Laboratory and Singulex Inc is going to pay millions of dollars as they allegedly bribed doctors so that they can receive referrals and for doing unnecessary testing and let Medicare pay for it.

For every referral the companies received, the doctor who referred received $10 to $17 because they also waive co-pays and deductibles for the patients. Health Diagnostics Laboratory is going to pay $7 million and Singulex Inc. will pay $1.5 million in order to settle the cases.

The two diagnostics company also worked with Blue Wave healthcare consultants in order to get more referrals from doctors who were getting incentives. Doctors were also getting incentives for every unnecessary test.

According to reports, the settlements are part of the negotiation but the two companies are not guilty. Health Diagnostics Laboratory said that yet no confirmation is there that they did something wrong. The case became known when four people filed the case against the two labs.

On the two companies, the check and balance will be imposed involving reviews of procedures. Among the petitioners were former employers of Singulex Inc. and a medical doctor. According to the government, it is not going to begin investigation against the two companies.

To stop such kind of events from taking place again, the two companies should also enter into an agreement with Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Inspector General. As per the terms of the False Claims Act, those in the private sector can file lawsuits against companies on behalf of the US government. Now, both the companies have joined a list of companies that have been prosecuted for health-related fraud under the False Claims Act.