May 6, 2014

Baptist Health System, the parent company for a network of affiliated hospitals and medical providers in the Jacksonville, Florida area, agreed to pay $2.5M to settle allegations that its subsidiaries violated the False Claims Act by submitting claims to Medicare and Medicaid for medically unnecessary services and drugs. Specifically, the government charged that two neurologists in the Baptist Health network intentionally misdiagnosed patients with various neurological disorders so they could bill the government health care programs for services and drugs they did not actually need. The allegations were first raised in a qui tam lawsuit filed by former Baptist Health employee, Verchetta Wells, under the whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act. DOJ

Tagged in: FCA Federal, Hospital Fraud, Lack of Medical Necessity, Whistleblower Case, Whistleblower Rewards,