Settlement Talks Underway in First Case Interpreting the ACA’s 60-Day Repayment Provision

November 09, 2015

The first known case interpreting the Affordable Care Act’s repayment provision, United States. ex rel. Robert Kane v. Healthfirst, was recently approved for settlement talks after the United Stated District Court for the Southern District of New York denied Healthfirst’s motion to dismiss.

Effective March 23, 2010, the Affordable Care Act requires health care providers to report and return an overpayment to Medicare or Medicaid within sixty days of identification.  The ACA also requires health care providers to submit a statement identifying the reasons for overpayment. The ACA authorizes civil monetary penalties of $10,000 per item or claim, as well as treble damages, for a provider who fails to report and return known overpayments.

In 2011, Healthfirst fired Kane four days after he circulated an email with a spreadsheet documenting over 900 improperly billed claims worth more than $1 million in potential overpayments. » Read more

Fourth Circuit Will Rule on Use of Sampling to Establish FCA Liability

November 04, 2015

In United States ex rel. Michaels et al. v. Agape Senior Community Inc. et al., the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina certified its ruling rejecting the Plaintiff-Relators’ use of statistical sampling to prove liability and damages, setting the ruling for interlocutory appeal by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.  On September 29, 2015, the Fourth Circuit agreed to review whether statistical sampling can be used to prove liability in a fraud case.

In Agape, the Plaintiff-Relators claimed that Defendants, a network of twenty-four nursing homes, committed fraud by submitting false Medicare, Medicaid, and Tricare claims and seeking reimbursement for nursing home-related services.  The government declined to intervene.  The case involves claims for at least 10,166 patients.  The district court found that “each claim asserted here presents the question of whether certain services furnished to nursing home patients were medically necessary,” meaning that each claim for each patient is distinct and unique from the other claims.» Read more

Doctor Who Gave Chemotherapy to Healthy Patients Gets 45 Years in Prison

August 30, 2015

As previously reported, prosecutors charged a Michigan oncologist, Farid Fata, with numerous criminal counts with the underlying allegation that Dr. Fata intentionally gave chemotherapy to healthy patients in order to maximize Medicare payments. Dr. Fata pled guilty to a majority of these charges.

U.S. District Judge Paul Borman sentenced Fata to 45 years in prison as Fata wept in court. Fata apologized for misusing his talents because of “power and greed.” While the sentence was considerably less than the 175 years sought by U.S Attorney Barbara McQuade’s prosecutors, McQuade said that the 45 year sentence was close to a life sentence for Fata. McQuade also expressed surprise that the case had uncovered such egregious conduct.

Grassley Urges Stronger Policing of Medicare Advantage

August 25, 2015

On May 21, 2015, Senator Chuck Grassley urged tighter policing of the Medicare Advantage program by the Department of Justice. Grassley relied on an investigative report by the Center for Public Integrity, which found that between 2008 and 2013, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services has paid more than $70 billion in improper payments to Medicare Advantage plans. Medicare Advantage plans are offered by private insurance companies that contract with Medicare to provide Part A and Part B benefits to beneficiaries.

According to a recent GAO report, the government “could save billions of dollars” by reducing abuse of Medicare Advantage’s payment system. Whistleblower lawsuits are one of the least costly and most effective tools for the government in fighting fraud. Through qui tam actions, whistleblowers are able to bring suit under seal and on behalf of the government to help the government recover funds it paid out as a result of false statements submitted for payment. Whistleblowers in qui tam actions are entitled to 15-25% of the government’s recovery.

Federal Court in South Carolina Holds That A Complaint Is Not Barred by The FCA’s First-to-File Rule If the Earlier-Filed Complaint was Voluntary Dismissed

May 04, 2015

The United States District Court for the District of South Carolina held that the False Claims Act’s (FCA) first-to-file rule requires that another complaint must be pending. Thus, the voluntary dismissal of an earlier-filed complaint clears the way for subsequent complaints, and no comparison of content of the complaints is necessary to allow the later-filed case to proceed.

» Read more

First Circuit Holds Healthcare Facility’s Use of Unlicensed Staff Violates the False Claims Act

April 17, 2015

On March 17, 2015, the First Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a District Court decision, holding that a counseling services’ failure to comply with state licensing requirements is a condition to payment under the False Claims Act.

The False Claims Act qui tam case at issue, US ex rel. Escobar v. Universal Health Services, Inc., was filed in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. The suit alleges that Julio Escobar and Carmen Correa’s daughter, Yarushka Rivera, who died of a seizure in 2009, was treated by unlicensed and unsupervised staff at Arbor Counseling Services, a facility owned and operated by Universal Health.

Universal Health, according to the complaint, provided mental health services by unlicensed, unaccredited, and unsupervised therapists in violation of regulations set by MassHealth, a healthcare program administered by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Under MassHealth, mental health providers are required to employ qualified staff members as a condition to payment.

An unlicensed therapist employed by United Health then prescribed Trileptal to Rivera. Trileptal is a behavioral medication allegedly known to cause seizures after abrupt withdrawal. On May 13, 2009, Rivera suffered a fatal seizure after the unlicensed Universal Health therapist discontinued the medication.

In March 2014, the District Court dismissed the suit, concluding that Escobar’s claims were not actionable under the FCA because licensing requirements involve conditions for participation, rather than payment. Further, the District Court held that the FCA is designed to address financial fraud on the government rather than police general regulatory compliance.

The First Circuit, in reversing the District Court’s decision, held that Universal Health’s claims for reimbursement were within the meaning of the FCA. The Court of Appeals reasoned that services are only reimbursable when MassHealth standards are met.

In arriving at this decision, the First Circuit “ask[ed] simply whether the defendant, in submitting a claim for reimbursement, knowingly misrepresented compliance with a material precondition of payment.”

Round-Up of Recent Qui Tam Settlements

March 18, 2015

The False Claims Act allows private citizens with knowledge of false claims to bring civil actions on behalf of the United States government and to share in the recovery from these actions. These private citizens, known as relators, may receive a portion of the government’s recovery even if the actions are settled. The following are examples of three settled false claims (or “qui tam”) actions in which the relators received large monetary sums as their share.

AstraZeneca entered into a settlement agreement for $7.9 million with the United States to resolve allegations that the company agreed to provide remuneration to a pharmacy benefits manager in exchange for maintaining exclusive status to formularies. The relator received $1.42 million from the settlement.

California-based C.R. Laurence Co. Inc., Florida-based Southeastern Aluminum Products Inc., and Texas-based Waterfall Group LLC agreed to pay $2,300,000, $650,000 and $100,000, respectively, to resolve a qui tam action. The action alleged that the companies schemed to elude customs duties on imports. The relator received a $555,000 reward. Customs regulations are in place to level the playing field between companies who purchase products domestically and those who import their products. Evading customs regulations poses serious harm to United States manufacturers.

Ageless Men’s Health, LLC agreed to pay $1.6 million to the United States to resolve allegations that it billed Medicare and Tricare for medically unnecessary evaluation and management services. Medicare and Tricare will only reimburse for medically necessary procedures. The relator and the United States alleged that Ageless Men’s Health improperly billed for each office visit during which a testosterone shot was administered. The relator will receive $250,000 from the settlement.

$25 Million Settlement Shows DOJ Focus on Home HealthCare Fraud

February 19, 2015

CareAll Management, a home healthcare provider based in Nashville, Tennessee, recently agreed to pay $25 million to settle charges that it violated the False Claims Act by submitting false and “upcoded” billings to Medicare and Medicaid. The settlement resolves a suit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee. The suit alleged that CareAll overstated the severity of patients’ conditions to increase billings (upcoding) and billed for services that were not medically necessary and were rendered to patients who were not homebound. CareAll is one of the largest home healthcare providers in Tennessee.

As part of the settlement, the relator, Toney Gonzales, will receive more than $3.9 million as his share of the total recovery. Gonzales brought the lawsuit against CareAll under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act, which allows private citizens to sue on behalf of the United States for fraudulent uses of federal funds (including Medicare and Medicaid) and to share in any recovery.

The CareAll settlement illustrates efforts by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to make home healthcare fraud a bigger enforcement priority. In many cases, the government is criminally prosecuting the individuals responsible for the fraud in addition to the corporate entity. In the same week that it announced the CareAll settlement, DOJ reached multi-million dollar settlements involving three other home healthcare fraud schemes. These settlements mark the success of the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT) initiative, a partnership between the Attorney General and the Secretary of Health and Human Services to increase efforts to prevent Medicare and Medicaid fraud.

Eighth Circuit Holds Planned RIF Does Not Bar Reinstatement of Fired Whistleblower

February 05, 2015

On December 17, 2014, the Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit affirmed a lower court ruling ordering Bayer Corporation to reinstate a former pharmaceuticals sales representative, Mike Townsend, wrongfully terminated by Bayer in violation of the anti-retaliation provisions of the False Claims Act (FCA), 31 U.S.C. § 3730(h). Bayer had opposed the court-ordered relief, arguing that reinstating Townsend constituted an abuse of discretion by the lower court because Bayer had planned to eliminate Townsend’s position in a reorganization and the FCA did not permit reinstatement in those circumstances.

In April 2009, Townsend disclosed to his manager that a Bayer customer, Dr. Kelly Shrum, was committing Medicare fraud by buying a cheaper Canadian version of a contraceptive device and submitting reimbursement claims for the more expensive FDA-approved contraceptive. Townsend eventually reported Shrum to the Arkansas attorney general.

On May 5, 2010, Bayer fired Townsend, claiming he couldn’t do his job because his credit card had been deactivated. At trial, Bayer argued that the deactivated card prevented Townsend from entertaining physicians. The jury rejected Bayer’s stated reason for terminating Townsend as pretextual and found Bayer fired Townsend in retaliation for reporting Shrum’s Medicare fraud.

Judge James M. Moody of the District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas ordered Bayer to reinstate Townsend. The Eighth Circuit affirmed reinstatement as an appropriate remedy for the retaliatory firing, given that Townsend had no performance issues, enjoyed working at Bayer, and there was no evidence that Townsend’s coworkers would harass him upon his return. The Court rejected Bayer’s planned reduction in force as an affirmative defense to bar Townsend’s reinstatement. The Court held that Bayer did not have to reinstate Townsend to the exact same position, but, at a minimum, had to put him in a position with “the same seniority status” he would have had but for Bayer’s unlawful conduct.

Federal District Court Refuses To Dismiss Case Based on the Public Disclosure Bar When the Government Has Opposed Dismissal On that Basis

January 16, 2015

In United States ex rel. Karin Berntsen v. Prime Healthcare Services, Inc. et al., the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California denied Prime Healthcare’s motion to dismiss, ruling that a False Claims Act qui tam action cannot be dismissed under the “public disclosure bar” if the Government has opposed dismissal on that basis.

The False Claims Act prevents a private party from bring a qui tam action where the alleged fraud is already publicly known (this is often referred to as the public disclosure bar).  In this case, Karin Berntsen, the relator, alleged that she was the original source of the information underlying her qui tam complaint and that she made these disclosures to the government before filing her lawsuit.  But Prime Healthcare and the other defendants moved to dismiss, in part, because they claimed that Berntsen was not the original source.  In support of their motion, they identified a number of publicly-available reports and articles regarding their allegedly fraudulent practices.

The relator argued that because the Government opposed the dismissal of the complaint on the basis of the public disclosure bar, the district court was barred from dismissing the complaint on that basis.  The court agreed with the relator.  The court also acknowledged a lack of legal authority on the issue and reviewed Congress’s intent in creating the public disclosure bar: to strike a balance between encouraging private persons to root out fraud and stifling parasitic lawsuits.  Since the Government, through its opposition to the dismissal, had indicated that it supported the relator’s qui tam action, the court found that it would be “illogical” for it to conclude that the relator’s action was parasitic, and thus allowed the relator’s qui tam action to proceed.