Tag: Whistleblower

WASHINGTON – The False Claims Act has led to a growth industry of sorts and it’s unlikely to slow down any time soon, says health care attorney Jeff Baird.  The U.S. Department of Justice recently announced $2.68 billion in settlements and judgments under the FCA, its highest number in a single year, with more than $1.8 billion related to health care. The vast majority are driven by whistleblower lawsuits, says Baird, chairman of the Health Care Group at Brown & Fortunato.     “There...

CLEARWATER, Fla. - Rotech Healthcare has agreed to pay $9.68 million for submitting false claims for portable oxygen contents to Medicare, according to an April 12 press release from the Department of Justice. As part of the settlement, Rotech admitted to billing portable oxygen contents to Medicare for beneficiaries who did not use or require them. Additionally, the company admitted to billing Medicare regardless of whether such contents were delivered, the release states. “This settlement...

CLEARWATER, Fla. - A former billing specialist has voluntarily dropped her False Claims Act lawsuit against Lincare, according to Law360. In a one-page order, U.S. District Judge Mary Scriven granted Rebecca Saiff's request to dismiss the lawsuit, a request that was granted without prejudice to either Saiff or the U.S. government, which declined to intervene, according to the legal publication. Saiff had filed a lawsuit alleging that Lincare has been knowingly defrauding the government of millions...

CLEARWATER, Fla. - A former employee says Lincare has been knowingly defrauding the government of millions of dollars by allegedly billing false claims to Medicare. “(Lincare) has engaged in a scheme to wrongfully enrich itself at taxpayers' expense by fraudulently billing Medicare for equipment rental for which either the patients or the equipment were not reimbursable by Medicare, by failing to provide services to patients it was obligated to provide, and by retaining overpayments...

CLEARWATER, Fla. - A former employee says Lincare has been knowingly defrauding the government of millions of dollars by allegedly billing false claims to Medicare. “(Lincare) has engaged in a scheme to wrongfully enrich itself at taxpayers' expense by fraudulently billing Medicare for equipment rental for which either the patients or the equipment were not reimbursable by Medicare, by failing to provide services to patients it was obligated to provide, and by retaining overpayments...

YARMOUTH, Maine - Healthcare attorney Elizabeth Hogue says she's mystified that whistleblower claims filed by employees or former employees aren't met with more skepticism by law enforcers. “They feel that if an insider says it, it must be true,” said Hogue. “It seems to me there are plenty of disgruntled insiders or insiders who don't have all the information.” Traditionally, whistleblower claims are based on false or lack of documentation, kickbacks, and...

A. Part one of this two-part article discusses the False Claims Act (FCA) and its whistleblower (or “qui tam”) provision. Part Two discusses how suppliers can decrease their risk of FCA liability. The FCA creates liability for any person who knowingly submits a false claim to the government or causes another to submit a false claim, or knowingly makes a false record or statement to get a false claim paid by the government. The “reverse FCA” section of the law creates liability...