Legal Brief
United States V McClatchey
217 F3d 823 Cir., (10th , 2000)
I. Background
This case of U.S government versus defendant McClatchey involves hospital CEO, two physicians, and Mr. McClatchy who is a part of the administrative staff at Baptist Medical center. Two physicians involved in the case worked together in a group practice called BVMG that provided care to the nursing homes. In 1984, they brought a proposal to the Baptist Medical Center to have them buy the practice and in return physicians were to refer their patients from other hospitals to Baptist medical center. This proposal was rejected; however, some negotiation of this plan took place and Baptist medical center agreed to pay a fee of 75,000 dollars to each doctor for providing some services to the medical center. The doctors and the medical center stayed in contract until 1993 and it was told in the testimony that contract was still kept even after learning that the doctors were not providing the services that they promised to provide in that contract.
II. Procedural History.
A jury convicted McClatchey of conspiracy to violate the Medicare Anti-Kickback Act by offering and paying remuneration to the two doctors involved in the case. Hoping or maintaining a purpose for doctors to refer their nursing home patients to Baptist Medical Center was a violation; moreover, he was also violating or aiding and abetting violations of the Act by knowingly and willfully offering and paying remuneration in return for such referrals. The district court granted Mr . McClatchey 's motion for judgment of acquittal , finding that the evidence presented at trial was insufficient to support a conviction for either offense. The judge stated that to convict McClatchy of both the conspiracy charge and the substantive charge of violating the Act, the government needed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that McClatchy knowingly and willfully joined a conspiracy with the specific intent to violate the Act.
217 F3d 823 Cir., (10th , 2000)
I. Background
This case of U.S government versus defendant McClatchey involves hospital CEO, two physicians, and Mr. McClatchy who is a part of the administrative staff at Baptist Medical center. Two physicians involved in the case worked together in a group practice called BVMG that provided care to the nursing homes. In 1984, they brought a proposal to the Baptist Medical Center to have them buy the practice and in return physicians were to refer their patients from other hospitals to Baptist medical center. This proposal was rejected; however, some negotiation of this plan took place and Baptist medical center agreed to pay a fee of 75,000 dollars to each doctor for providing some services to the medical center. The doctors and the medical center stayed in contract until 1993 and it was told in the testimony that contract was still kept even after learning that the doctors were not providing the services that they promised to provide in that contract.
II. Procedural History.
A jury convicted McClatchey of conspiracy to violate the Medicare Anti-Kickback Act by offering and paying remuneration to the two doctors involved in the case. Hoping or maintaining a purpose for doctors to refer their nursing home patients to Baptist Medical Center was a violation; moreover, he was also violating or aiding and abetting violations of the Act by knowingly and willfully offering and paying remuneration in return for such referrals. The district court granted Mr . McClatchey 's motion for judgment of acquittal , finding that the evidence presented at trial was insufficient to support a conviction for either offense. The judge stated that to convict McClatchy of both the conspiracy charge and the substantive charge of violating the Act, the government needed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that McClatchy knowingly and willfully joined a conspiracy with the specific intent to violate the Act.