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Improper Medical Personnel

This archive displays posts tagged as relevant to healthcare billings for unlicensed, unsupervised, or otherwise improper personnel. You may also be interested in our pages:

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August 26, 2021

Mental health and addiction services provider Connections Community Support Programs, Inc. has consented to the entry of judgment ordering payment of $15.3 million to resolve claims that it billed federal healthcare programs for mental health services performed by individuals without required professional qualification, billed using incorrect procedure codes, and failed to keep proper records regarding controlled substances.  Connections has filed for bankruptcy, and the government recovery will be limited by the availability of funds in the bankruptcy estate.  The settlement resolves claims brought in a qui tam lawsuit by two former Connections employees.  USAO Del

Tagged in: FCA Federal, Healthcare Fraud, Improper Medical Personnel, Medical Billing Fraud, Provider Fraud, Whistleblower Case,

August 9, 2021

The owners of North Carolina compounding pharmacy Wellcare Compouding, David Tsui and Lois Tsui, paid $1.1 million to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by submitting false claims for payment to the TRICARE program in 2014 and 2015.  The government alleged that Wellcare made improper payments to physicians and “marketers” in violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute and encouraged medically unnecessary prescriptions consisting of high-margin ingredients in order to maximize the pharmacy’s reimbursement. David Tsui had been convicted of healthcare fraud in 2009 and was excluded from participation in federal healthcare programs; the government alleged that his involvement and ownership was intentionally concealed.  USAO MD NC

Tagged in: Anti-Kickback and Stark, Compounding Pharmacy Fraud, FCA Federal, Healthcare Fraud, Improper Medical Personnel, Lack of Medical Necessity, Other Government Health Programs, Pharma Fraud,

Catch of the Week: EEG Testing Company and Private-Investment Company to Pay $15.3M for Kickback and False-Billing Allegations

Posted  07/23/21
man holding money in hand and another hand with one finger over mouth
Whistleblowers came forward with six False Claims Act actions against a national EEG testing company and an investment company for allegedly paying kickbacks and falsely billing government healthcare programs.  Texas-based provider Alliance Family of Companies (now Stratus) and private investor Ancor Holdings together will pay $15.3 million to resolve the cases. For their actions in coming forward, two...

Tagged in: Anti-Kickback and Stark, Catch of the Week, FCA Federal, Healthcare Fraud, Improper Medical Personnel, Medical Billing Fraud, Whistleblower Case, Whistleblower Rewards,

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July 2, 2021

Select Medical Corporation (SMC) and Encore GC Acquisition LLL have agreed to pay $8.4 million to settle allegations that contract rehabilitation therapy provider Select Medical Rehabilitation Services Inc. (SMRS)—a previous subsidiary of SMC and current subsidiary of Encore—violated the False Claims Act.  According to former SMRS employee Melissa Vail, SMRS’s desire to maximize profits led it to provide medically unnecessary, unreasonable, and unskilled therapy services, and subsequently caused twelve skilled nursing facilities in the New York and New Jersey area to submit false claims to Medicare over a six-year period.  USAO NJ

Tagged in: FCA Federal, Healthcare Fraud, Improper Medical Personnel, Lack of Medical Necessity, Medical Billing Fraud, Medicare, Provider Fraud, SNF, Whistleblower Case,

May 26, 2021

HEAG Pain Management Center, P.A. (HEAG) and its owner, Dr. Kwadwo Gyarteng-Dakwa (Dr. Dakwa), have agreed to pay $500,000 to settle allegations of defrauding Medicare and Medicaid.  According to the government, the defendants knowingly submitted or caused the submission of claims for medically unnecessary diagnostic testing between 2011 and 2016.  AG NC; USAO MDNC

Tagged in: FCA Federal, Healthcare Fraud, Improper Medical Personnel, Lack of Medical Necessity, Medicaid, Medicare, Provider Fraud,

May 21, 2021

SavaSeniorCare LLC and related entities (“Sava”) will pay $11.2 million, plus potentially more pursuant to an “ability-to-pay” settlement, to resolve allegations that Sava violated the False Claims Act by causing its skilled nursing facilities to bill Medicare for rehabilitation therapy services that were not reasonable, necessary, or skilled, and that Sava billed the Medicare and Medicaid programs for grossly substandard (i.e., “worthless”) skilled nursing services.  The settlement stems from four separate qui tam complaints filed by whistleblowers Rita Hayward, Trammel Kukoyi, Terrence Scott, James Thornton, and Barbara Roberts, who will share an undisclosed portion of the government’s recovery.  In 2015, the United States intervened in the litigation and filed a consolidated False Claims Act complaint, alleging inter alia that Sava had exerted significant pressure on its skilled nursing facilities to meet unrealistic corporate targets for the highest Medicare reimbursement rates without regard to patients’ actual clinical needs, and improperly delayed the discharge of patients from its facilities in order to increase billings.  Sava will enter into a five-year Corporate Integrity Agreement as part of the settlement.  DOJ

Tagged in: FCA Federal, Healthcare Fraud, Improper Medical Personnel, Lack of Medical Necessity, Medicaid, Medicare, SNF, Upcoding, Whistleblower Case,

December 4, 2020

Joint Active Systems, Inc. (JAS), a durable medical equipment manufacturer, and New England Orthotics & Prosthetics, LLP (NEOPS) have agreed to pay $1.59 million and $90,000 respectively to resolve allegations of defrauding multiple federal healthcare programs—including TRICARE, Medicare, and Medicaid programs in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island—through a variety of fraudulent schemes.  According to a qui tam suit filed by two former NEOPS employees, JAS allegedly recruited NEOPS to bill Medicare and Medicaid for custom-fabricated orthotics that were not custom-fabricated orthotics, nor medically necessary, and falsely claim that JAS-affiliated sales representatives were properly trained to treat patients during fittings.  Additionally, JAS allegedly overcharged the VA for its devices by as much as 300%.  For blowing the whistle on these fraud schemes, the whistleblowers will receive a 17% share of the settlement proceeds.  USAO MA

Tagged in: FCA Federal, Healthcare Fraud, Improper Medical Personnel, Medicaid, Medical Billing Fraud, Medical Devices and DME, Other Government Health Programs, Whistleblower Case, Whistleblower Rewards,

October 2, 2020

Two New York-based physical therapy providers have agreed to pay $4 million to resolve whistleblower-brought allegations of violating the False Claims Act by improperly billing multiple government healthcare programs, including Medicare, Medicaid, the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act Program (FECA), and the Federal Employees’ Health Benefits Program (FEHBP).  The alleged misconduct by Williamsburg Physical Therapy, P.C., Euro Physical Therapy, P.C., owners Alex and Diana Klurfeld, and management company First Plus Services, Inc. occurred between 2008 to 2018, and involved billing for physical therapy services provided or supervised by someone other than the licensed therapist listed on claims, as well as backdating services after treatment authorizations had expired.  USAO EDNY

Tagged in: FCA Federal, Healthcare Fraud, Improper Medical Personnel, Medicaid, Medical Billing Fraud, Medicare, Other Government Health Programs, Whistleblower Case,

September 9, 2020

Southern California radiology facility operators William M. Kelly Inc. and Omega Imaging Inc. paid $5 million to resolve claims initiated by a qui tam action under the False Claims Act filed by former employee Syd Ackerman.  The action alleged that defendants submitted claims for CT scans and MRIs involving contrast injections that were not supervised by a physician as required by applicable program rules.  The whistleblower will receive $925,000 of the settlement.  DOJ

Tagged in: FCA Federal, Healthcare Fraud, Improper Medical Personnel, Medical Billing Fraud, Provider Fraud, Whistleblower Case, Whistleblower Rewards,

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