After more than five years in a legal battle, one of Ohio’s largest hospital systems is found guilty of bribing independent insurance brokers for converting clients to its group insurance plan. The Ohio Supreme Court unanimously dismissed an appeal in March by Aultman Health Foundation, ruling in favor of cross-town rival Mercy Medical Center.
In 2010, a Stark County jury found that Aultman violated Ohio’s Pattern of Corrupt Activities (“PCA”) statute and a federal criminal statute, 18 U.S.C. § 1954, by using charitable funds to make secret payments to independent insurance brokers to steer employer-group clients to Aultman’s private insurance plan. Section 1954, a predicate act under Ohio’s PCA statute, prohibits corrupt payments to entities that perform services for employee health plans.
