Fla. hospital agrees to pay $7 million to settle suit

All Children's Hospital has agreed to pay $7 million to settle a whistle-blower lawsuit alleging it violated anti-kickback laws by paying inflated salaries and bonuses to doctors so that they would bring in more patients and revenues.

The Tampa Bay Times reports the suit was filed in July 2011 by the director of operations for the doctors' practice at All Children's. She claimed the hospital overpaid doctors by about $5 million in 2010 alone, violating laws regulating the financial relationships between hospitals and the physicians who bring in patients.

All Children's denied any wrongdoing in agreeing to the settlement.

The hospital will pay the federal government $4 million and the state of Florida $3 million. The whistle-blower will receive $1.9 million out of the state and federal figures.