HCA, one of the largest for-profit hospital chains nationwide, has agreed to pay the United States and the state of Tennessee $16.5 million to settle allegations arising from its Parkridge Medical Center facility in Chattanooga. A financial arrangement between Parkridge Medical Center and physician group Diagnostic Associates of Chattanooga triggered the allegations that Parkridge violated the False Claims Act and the Stark Statute.
A Los Angeles area physician assistant, David James Garrison, has been sentenced to 72 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for stealing the identity of physicians to prescribe medically unnecessary prescriptions for durable medical equipment (“DME”) and diagnostic tests. He has also been ordered to pay $24,935 in restitution.
The New York Attorney General announced an $18 million settlement with Compass Group USA, Inc., a food management services provider, for overcharging 39 schools and school districts across the state. In addition to the monetary settlement, Compass entered into a first ever Nutritional Code of Conduct to ensure better quality food in schools.
Relator Bradley Birkenfeld will receive a $104 million award, for his part in revealing UBS Bank’s illegal offshore banking scheme. It is believed to be the largest award to an individual Relator and the first major award under the IRS Whistleblower Act.
Cornell University has lost its appeal of a 2010 verdict that was the result of a whistleblower lawsuit brought by a former research fellow. The lawsuit alleges that Weil Cornell Medical College and former faculty member Dr. Wilfred van Gorp made false claims to the National Institute of Health (“NIH”) regarding a government funded research grant.
Orthofix’s proposed $7.8 million settlement in a Medicare kickback investigation has been rejected by U.S. District Judge William G. Young. Orthofix had proposed pleading guilty to one count of obstructing a government audit and paying a $7.8 million fine. In rejecting the settlement, Judge Young stated that he had unease in treating a corporate criminal case as a civil case and that the settlement unduly restricted his sentencing power.
The Department of Justice announced on September 6, 2012, that the government has intervened in a whistleblower lawsuit against Hospice of the Comforter Inc. (“HOTCI”) alleging false Medicare. HOTCI provides hospice services to patients residing in the vicinity of Orlando, Fla.
New York Downtown Hospital, located in lower Manhattan near New York City’s financial district, will pay $13.4 million to settle two lawsuits pending in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
The lawsuits entitled United States and New York State ex rel.
The Institute of Medicine (“IOM”) issued a report on September 6, 2012, finding that the U.S. health care system loses roughly $750 billion a year through “unneeded care, Byzantine paperwork, fraud and other waste.” IOM confirmed that $75 billion of the $750 billion lost is because of healthcare fraud.
Taxpayers Against Fraud Education Fund recently launched their new website. When you have a few extra minutes, be sure to check it out at www.taf.org.
