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Sutter Health – Medicare Advantage Fraud ($90 million)

Constantine Cannon represented whistleblower Kathy Ormsby in a False Claims Act litigation against Sutter Health and its affiliates that resulted in a $90 million settlement – the largest Medicare Advantage FCA settlement to date against a hospital system, and the second largest reported Medicare Advantage fraud settlement to date.  Ms. Ormsby, a former Risk Adjustment Factor Project Manager at Sutter Health affiliate Palo Alto Medical Foundation, alleged the Sutter Health defendants inflated the number and severity of Medicare Advantage patient diagnoses, manipulated patient records, ignored audit “red flags,” and engaged in other misconduct to increase patient risk scores and obtain Medicare Advantage payments to which they were not entitled.  In Spring 2019, the Government intervened in Ms. Ormsby’s case as to PAMF, and Ms. Ormsby continued to pursue her claims against the other Sutter Health affiliates on a non-intervened basis. This settlement resolves all claims and follows Sutter’s unsuccessful effort to dismiss both the complaints.  Read more: Press Release; Whistleblower Insider.

Sharp HealthCare — Medicare Fraud/Kickbacks (undisclosed settlement amount)

Three of our whistleblower attorneys represented a whistleblower in a qui tam action under the False Claims Act against Sharp HealthCare, a regional hospital system in San Diego.  Our client alleged that the Sharp Healthcare Center for Research, Sharp’s clinical-trial research arm, fraudulently billed government payers in violation of “secondary payer” rules that prohibit billing the government when other payers will pay for a patient’s care. Our whistleblower client also alleged that Sharp cultivated an illegal kickback scheme to entice prospective trial sponsors to host clinical trials at Sharp by regularly undervaluing Sharp’s costs involved in managing clinical trials.  By offering below-market value incentives and billing government and commercial insurers for injuries, the lawsuit alleged that Sharp sought to increase its attractiveness to trial sponsors. Sharp’s alleged purpose was to burnish the organization’s reputation and offer a lucrative stream of income for Sharp-affiliated physicians involved in clinical trials. Sharp settled the whistleblower’s case for an undisclosed amount.  Read more here.