The United States announced a new program in cooperation with the Swiss government that allows Swiss banks not currently under criminal investigation to be eligible for non-prosecution agreements in exchange for their cooperation in investigating offshore tax evasion schemes. The program will require participating banks to pay penalties, disclose cross-border activities,
The IRS recently named John Dalrymple as the new Deputy Commissioner for Services and Enforcement. In that role Dalrymple will oversee four IRS operating divisions including Wage and Investment, Large Business & International, Small Business/Self-Employed and Tax Exempt and Government Entities. He will also supervise the Criminal Investigation Division, the Office of Professional responsibility,
A recent article in the New York Times discloses how an IV bag of saline solution, which costs at most $1 to manufacture, ends up costing hospital patients hundreds of dollars. In “How to Charge $546 for Six Liters of Saltwater,” the author details charges to a group of individuals treated for food poisoning in upstate New York.
Imagimed, LLC and several of its former owners and staff physicians settled allegations of false claims with the US Attorney for the Northern District of New York. The false claims concerned Imagimed’s fraudulent practice of performing MRI’s with contrast dyes without direct supervision of a qualified physician. A physician is required to be present because of the risk of anaphylactic shock.
The SEC Whistleblower program has yet to land a big FCPA case. SEC Whistleblower Head Sean McKessy predicts that FCPA claims will materialize and believes the number of FCPA tips reported may be higher than noted. Nonetheless, others are skeptical about whether the FCPA is a viable avenue for SEC whistleblowers.
ATI Enterprises, Inc. agreed to pay the government $3.7 million to settled claims that it falsely certified compliance with federal financial aid programs. The government claims that ATI fraudulently misrepresented its job placement statistics to maintain its eligibility for financial aid programs, and that it fraudulently induced students to enroll in the school and to maintain their enrollment to increase the amount of federal dollars received.
Terry Myers tried in vain to have Shands Hospitals self report improper billing practices his company found during routine audits over several years. The improper billing concerned Shands practice of routinely admitting Medicare and Medicaid patients who were not sick enough to need inpatient care. Myers also alleged that Shands improperly billed for outpatient care,
Following an announcement by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services about the temporary moratoria on Miami and Chicago home health providers and Houston ambulance providers for Medicare, U.S. Senators Orrin Hatch, Chuck Grassley, and Tom Coburn welcomed this action by CMS to halt waste fraud and abuse within the Medicare program.
The state of Georgia publicly joined a pending federal whistleblower case against two hospital companies, Tenet Healthcare Corporation and Health Management Associates, Inc. and an entity commonly known as Clinica de la Mama. The suit alleges that Clinica operates prenatal clinics to identify and recruit pregnant, undocumented Hispanic women and refers them to Tenet and HMA hospitals that pay for the referrals because the deliveries will be paid for by Medicare and Medicaid.
Federal Officials are scaling back numerous high-profile healthcare False Claims Act investigations due to budget decline. The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General, which investigates Medicare and Medicaid fraud, is losing 400 staff members through 2015, about 20% of its workforce.
An unspecified number of investigations into poor quality care in hospitals are being delayed due to “significantly reduced” travel budgets and the high cost of paying experts to review medical files.
If you are aware of any person, corporation or entity that you think may be violating the Federal False Claims Act or a State False Claims Act, contact us today.