Other Government Health Programs Archives - Page 4 of 18

November 5, 2021

Two men who pleaded guilty to causing $134 million in false claims to be submitted to Medicare and CHAMPVA have been sentenced to federal prison and ordered to pay restitution of over $29 million. Michael Nolan of Florida was sentenced to 6.5 years, while Richard Epstein of Colorado was sentenced to about 5 years. Using a telemarketing company called REMN Management LLC, as well as a telemedicine company called Comprehensive Telcare LLC, Nolan and Epstein had bribed physicians to sign medically unnecessary orders for durable medical equipment, which they then sold to co-conspirators as support for the false claims. USAO MDFL

Tagged in: Anti-Kickback and Stark, FCA Federal, Healthcare Fraud, Medical Devices and DME, Medicare, Other Government Health Programs,

October 28, 2021

Rehab Authority, LLC, a physical therapy provider in Minnesota, has agreed to pay $4 million to resolve allegations by whistleblower Cami Lane that it violated the False Claims Act. RehabAuthority clinics had allegedly submitted false claims to Medicare, Medicaid, TRICARE, and the Veterans Health Administration for one-on-one outpatient physical therapy that was not provided. USAO MN

Tagged in: FCA Federal, Healthcare Fraud, Medicaid, Medicare, Other Government Health Programs, Provider Fraud, Whistleblower Case,

October 25, 2021

Curant, Inc., which owns pharmacies in Florida and Georgia, has agreed to pay $4.6 million to resolve allegations of paying kickbacks to a third-party marketer, waiving mandatory copays from patients, and overbilling TRICARE for compound pain and scar creams. The alleged misconduct occurred between 2013 and 2015. USAO NDGA

Tagged in: Anti-Kickback and Stark, FCA Federal, Healthcare Fraud, Medicaid, Medicare, Other Government Health Programs, Provider Fraud, Whistleblower Case,

October 20, 2021

MD Spine Solutions LLC, d/b/a MD Labs Inc., and its owners, co-founders Denis Grizelj and Matthew Rutledge, have agreed to pay up to $16 million to settle fraud allegations raised by an unnamed whistleblower. MD Labs had allegedly billed Medicare, Medicaid, and other federal healthcare programs for presumptive urine drug testing as well as confirmatory urine drug testing run on the same samples, which is frequently baseless or useless. USAO MA

Tagged in: FCA Federal, Healthcare Fraud, Lack of Medical Necessity, Medicaid, Medicare, Other Government Health Programs, 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,

Partner Mary Inman Speaks about Research Fraud with Science Whistleblower Dr. Elisabeth Bik at the HCCA’s Research Compliance Conference

Posted 07/23/21

On June 16, 2021, Constantine Cannon partner Mary Inman spoke at the Health Care Compliance Association’s (HCCA) Research Compliance Conference on the topic of ‘The Vital Role of Whistleblower Scientists in Exposing Fraudulent Research During the Pandemic.’ Mary was joined by co-panelist Dr. Elisabeth Bik, the Founder and Editor of the Science Integrity Digest, a blog about scientific integrity aimed at...

Tagged in: COVID-19, Grant and Research Fraud, Importance of Whistleblowers, Other Government Health Programs, Whistleblower Evidence,

July 19, 2021

Prime Healthcare Services, one of the largest hospital systems in the nation, its founder and CEO Dr. Prem Reddy, and interventional cardiologist Dr. Siva Arunasalam have agreed to pay $37.5 million to resolve two suits filed by former executive Martin Mansukhani, and former employees Marsha Arnold and Joseph Hill. In violation of the federal and California False Claims Acts, certain Prime hospitals had allegedly submitted inflated invoices to Medi-Cal and other government health programs, or submitted claims to Medi-Cal and Medicare under Arunasalam’s provider number for services provided by an excluded physician. Additionally, in acquiring Arunasalam’s physician practice and surgery center, Prime allegedly paid above fair market value for referrals from Arunasalam to one of their hospitals. For being the first to file, one of the whistleblowers, Mansukhani, will receive a relator’s share of nearly $10 million. CA AG; USAO CDCA

Tagged in: Anti-Kickback and Stark, FCA Federal, FCA State, Healthcare Fraud, Hospital Fraud, Medicaid, Medical Billing Fraud, Medicare, Other Government Health Programs, Provider Fraud, Whistleblower Case, Whistleblower Rewards,

June 28, 2021

Surgical Care Affiliates, LLC and Orlando Center for Outpatient Surgery, LP have agreed to pay $3.4 million to resolve a whistleblower’s allegations that they billed Medicare and TRICARE for medically unnecessary kidney stone procedures. The centers also engaged in an illegal kickback arrangement whereby urologist Dr. Patrick Hunter performed lithotripsy procedures in exchange for per-procedure payments from the Orlando Center. For bringing a successful action, whistleblower Scott Thompson will receive a relator’s share of $748,000 from the settlement with SCA and the Orlando Center. USAO MDFL

Tagged in: Anti-Kickback and Stark, FCA Federal, Healthcare Fraud, Lack of Medical Necessity, Medicare, Other Government Health Programs, Provider Fraud, Whistleblower Case, Whistleblower Rewards,

June 23, 2021

El Paso Ear, Nose & Throat Associates (EPENT) has agreed to pay $750,000 to settle allegations of defrauding Medicaid, Medicare, and TRICARE. In violation of the False Claims Act, EPENT allegedly billed the programs at a higher rate of reimbursement than what they were actually entitled to by upcoding evaluation and management codes. USAO WDTX

Tagged in: FCA Federal, Healthcare Fraud, Medicaid, Medical Billing Fraud, Medicare, Other Government Health Programs, Provider Fraud, Upcoding,

June 11, 2021

Two integrative chiropractic practices in Pennsylvania and their chiropractor owners have agreed to pay over $800,000 to resolve liability under the False Claims Act in connection with an electro-acupuncture device. The settling parties are Discover Optimal Healthcare, affiliate Weigner Healthcare Management Group, LLC, and owner Jason Weigner (collectively, “Weigner”), and Yucha Medical Pain Management & Chiropractic Rehabilitation, LLC, and owners Randolph Yucha and Rodney Gabel. Between 2016 and 2017, the parties allegedly billed Medicare and the Federal Employees Health Benefit Program for the surgical implantation of neuro-stimulators, even though the devices involved—ANSiStim—are not reimbursable and can be applied with adhesives. USAO EDPA

Tagged in: FCA Federal, Healthcare Fraud, Medical Billing Fraud, Medical Devices and DME, Medicare, Other Government Health Programs, Provider Fraud,

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