An orthopedic physician and former Agnesian HealthCare employee accuses Agnesian of defrauding government funded health care programs by compensating doctors who bring in more business. Dr. Clark Searle alleges in a federal lawsuit that Agnesian violated the Stark Law which bans physician self-referral for services when a patient is covered by Medicare or Medicaid. Agnesian and SSM Health denies the claim and says Governor Scott Walker recently repealed the Wisconsin False Claims for Medical Assistance Law, the state’s version of the Stark Law.
