Late breaking news briefs for the week of May 20

• Mercy agreed to pay $34 million to settle claims it fraudulently billed Medicare as a result of improper physician compensation practices over a five-year period. The whistle-blower lawsuit, filed by a former Mercy physician, alleges a Mercy hospital and clinic submitted false claims to Medicare for chemotherapy services between 2009 and 2014. The suit claims that the Chesterfield, Mo.-based system violated the Stark law by taking into account patient referrals to its infusion center when it paid oncologists.

• Elliott Management, led by activist investor Paul Singer, has taken a 9.2% stake in Athenahealth. The information technology firm offers cloud-based electronic health records to providers. News of the deal, made this month, came in the form of a Securities and Exchange Commission filing released late last week. The company's shares jumped by more than 17% after the news broke, bringing its market value to upward of $5 billion. The boost in shares follows a dip a couple of weeks ago in response to a disappointing first quarter.