Union General Hospital in Blairsville, Ga., agreed to pay $5 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act and Stark Law, according to the Department of Justice. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia launched a civil healthcare fraud investigation into Union General Hospital in 2016 after several of the hospital's employees … [Read more...]
Department of Justice recovered $2.5 billion in healthcare fraud proceeds
The Department of Justice has announced that it obtained $2.5 billion in settlements and judgments from cases involving healthcare fraud in 2018. The healthcare fraud settlements are part of more than $2.8 billion the government obtained through False Claims Act cases last year, the DOJ said. This is the ninth consecutive year that the DOJ’s civil healthcare fraud judgments … [Read more...]
Government Intervenes in Medicare Fraud Lawsuit Filed Against Texas Cardiovascular Center
Berger Montague is pleased to announce that the government has intervened in a False Claims Act lawsuit filed by shareholder Shauna Itri, along with co-counsel, against a cardiovascular center in Texas. The lawsuit alleges that the cardiologist group defrauded the government by billing Medicare for medically unnecessary services. An example of the medically unnecessary … [Read more...]
Prime Healthcare Services and CEO to Pay $65 Million to Settle False Claims Act Allegations
Prime Healthcare Services, Inc., Prime Healthcare Foundation, Inc., and Prime Healthcare Management, Inc. (collectively Prime), and Prime’s Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Prem Reddy, have agreed to pay the United States $65 million to settle allegations that 14 Prime hospitals in California knowingly submitted false claims to Medicare by admitting patients who … [Read more...]
Cardiologist Gets 20 Months In Prison For Hundreds Of Bogus Medical Procedures
NEWARK, N.J. – A Somerset, New Jersey, man was sentenced today to 20 months in prison for defrauding the Veterans Affairs program by billing for services he never performed, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced. Apostolos Voudouris, 44, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge William H. Walls in Newark federal court to an information charging him with health … [Read more...]
Health Quest and Putnam Hospital Center to Pay $14.7 Million to Resolve False Claims Act Allegations
Health Quest Systems, Inc. and certain of its subsidiaries (Health Quest) and Putnam Health Center (PHC) have agreed to pay over $14.7 million to resolve allegations of violations of the False Claims Act by submitting inflated and otherwise ineligible claims for payment, the Justice Department announced today. New-York based Health Quest is a family of integrated hospitals and … [Read more...]
Provider Health Insurance Fraud Schemes, Settlements Top $310M
January 17, 2018 - Law enforcement agencies and federal healthcare administrators including HHS, the Office of the Inspector General (OIG), the FBI, and US Attorney's Offices across the country investigated provider healthcare schemes that defrauded Medicare and Medicaid more than $310 million. The investigations led to criminal charges and one settlement to resolve False … [Read more...]
Kool Smiles clinics paying $23.9 million settlement
YUMA, Ariz. - The Justice Department announced on Wednesday that it has settled False Claims Act allegations against dental management company Benevis LLC (formerly known as NCDR LLC) and more than 130 of its affiliated Kool Smiles dental clinics for which Benevis provides business management and administrative services. Under the agreement, Benevis and the Kool Smiles clinics … [Read more...]
Whistleblower Sues Major EHR Company on Behalf of U.S. Government; Alleges CMS Fraud
A former WakeMed Health employee filed a lawsuit against a large electronic health record vendor under the False Claims Act for allegedly fraudulent practices in its medical claims software, according to court documents. Geraldine Petrowski, of North Carolina, alleges the company doubled-billed Medicare and Medicaid. Source: Whistleblower Sues Major EHR Company on Behalf of … [Read more...]
$5 Million Settlement in False Claims Act Case
HOUSTON, Oct. 19, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Joel M. Androphy and Janis Gorton of the Berg & Androphy law firm, along with the United States and the State of Texas, have reached a $5 million settlement in False Claims Act litigation against Health Services Management, Inc. (HSM) and Huntsville Health Care Center (HHCC). The case, filed on behalf of the U.S. and state, alleged … [Read more...]