Whistleblowers and Qui Tam Lawsuits

October 20, 2017

California Workers’ Comp Suspends 11 Medical Providers in October

hush-naidoo-382152-copy-300x200 The California Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC) announced new suspensions twice in October. It suspended eight medical providers from participating in the state’s workers’ compensation system in early October and then three more shortly after. The total suspensions for 2017 are now up to 49.

These suspensions are part of the DWC’s new policy passed into law in 2016 by Assembly Bill 1244. The new law, which went into effect on January 1, requires the DWC to suspend any medical provider that is convicted of any offense involving abuse or fraud of the federal Medicare program, the state Medi-Cal program, any workers’ compensation system, or a patient. Medical providers can also be suspended for other types of misconduct that led to their license being revoked or surrendered.

The Suspended Medical Providers

October 13, 2017

California Judge Dismisses FCA Case Against UnitedHealth Group

by Gregory J. Brod

samuel-zeller-360588-copy-200x300 In early October, a California federal judge dismissed without prejudice a False Claims Act (FCA) lawsuit against UnitedHealth Group Inc. (UHG). The suit, U.S. ex rel. Swoben v. Secure Horizons, et al., alleged UHG ignored questionable diagnoses that led to higher reimbursements through the Medicare Advantage program. This is significant news for the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). The UHG case was the first FCA suit related to the Medicare Advantage program that the DOJ joined. This was essentially a test case to determine the strength of the DOJ’s position and the ability to bring similar cases in the future. Unfortunately, this dismissal signals there were numerous weaknesses in the DOJ’s FCA case.

The Basis for the FCA Claim

This qui tam suit was brought by a whistleblower who alleged UHG knowingly ignored questionable patient charts reviewed by another company, Healthcare Partners LLC. These charts, whether or not they had appropriate evidence, contained diagnoses that would increase the insurer’s risk adjusted payments under the Medicare Advantage program. Under Medicare Advantage, healthcare providers receive higher reimbursements for caring for sicker patients.

September 29, 2017

The DOJ Prosecutes All Levels of Healthcare Fraud

by Gregory J. Brod

vladimir-kudinov-71455-copy-300x241 There is a misconception that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is mainly interested in health care fraud and violations of the False Claim Act (FCA) from large corporations like major insurers or pharmaceutical manufacturers. However, this is not true. The DOJ is on a mission to uncover health care fraud at all levels of care, including with individual physicians, local hospitals, regional insurers, and multi-national businesses. This is evidence by two recent DOJ announcements regarding settlements with a family practice chain in South Carolina and a hospital operator in New York.

South Carolina Family Medicine Centers

The Family Medicine Centers of South Carolina LLC (FMC) agreed to pay the U.S. $1.56 million to resolve allegations of FCA violations. FMC is a physician-owned chain of five, previously six, medical practices located in Columbia, South Carolina, and the surrounding area. FMC’s principal owner and chief executive officer Dr. Stephen F. Serbin and FMC’s former laboratory director Victoria Serbin will pay $443,000 to personally resolve allegations of FCA violations.

September 8, 2017

CHRISTUS Health Care Companies to Pay $12.24 Million in FCA Settlement

by Gregory J. Brod

daan-stevens-282446-copy-300x191 CHRISTUS St. Vincent Regional Medical Center, located in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and CHRISTUS Health, located in Irving, Texas, have agreed with the U.S. Department of Justice to resolve allegations of violating the federal False Claims Act (FCA) with a settlement of $12.24 million plus interest.

A Qui Tam Suit

The allegations against the CHRISTUS health care companies were made by a former indigent healthcare administrator under the qui tam provision of the FCA. This whistleblower provided information that the two health care companies were making illegal donations to county governments. Between 2001 and 2009, the CHRISTUS companies allegedly made donations in bad faith to various counties, which in turn caused New Mexico to present false claims to the federal government through the Medicaid program.

September 1, 2017

Whistleblower Fails to Get a New Judge in Case

by Gregory J. Brod

christina-sicoli-19892-copy-300x212 Whistleblower George Gage has made it clear he is not happy with the current judge for his qui tam case, U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks. Gage claims that throughout his False Claims Act (FCA) case against Rolls-Royce North America Inc., Judge Sparks has handed down orders that attempt to divest him of jurisdiction in order to try and have Gage’s case thrown out before Rolls-Royce submitted an answer. He has tried two different ways to obtain a different judge on his case and each time has failed. That is because it takes a great deal of evidence of bias or impartiality to get a judge taken off a case.

If you are currently part of a qui tam case and believe the judge is not able to be partial, contact the experienced California qui tam attorneys of Brod Law Firm as soon as possible.

Gage’s Attempts for a New Judge

August 25, 2017

Owner of Texas Home Health Agencies Sentenced to Prison for Conspiracy to Defraud Medicare

by Gregory J. Brod

daan-stevens-282446-copy-300x191 The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced August 18 that the owner and operator of five home health agencies located in the Houston area, Godwin Oriakhi, 61, was sentenced to 480 months in prison for conspiring to defraud Medicare and the Texas’ Medicaid programs: Home and Community-Based Service (HCBS) and Primary Home Care (PHC), which are known as provider attendant services (PAS). The authorities found Oriakhi defrauded Medicare and the Medicaid programs for more than $17 million, making this the largest PAS fraud case in all of Texas’ history.

More on Oriakhi’s Fraud

Oriakhi pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to commit health fraud and one count of conspiracy to launder monetary instruments in March 2017. This came after Oriakhi admitted that he and his daughter, a co-defendant in the case, and other members of his family obtained patients for his home health agencies through illegal kickbacks to patient recruiters, his office employees, and physicians. His five facilities receive hundreds of patient referrals this way.

August 4, 2017

Qui Tam Cases Remain Under Seal for Years

by Gregory J. Brod

When qui tam cases under the False Claims Act (FCA) are first filed, they are to remain under seal for 60 days. During this time, the case is secret. The defendant is not even served yet, so it likely does not know there is a suit filed against it unless there are quiet rumblings or leaks. During this 60-day period, the government is given an opportunity to investigate the allegations and decide whether to join the suit or not. Once the government makes its decision, the case is unsealed. In certain instances, this is when the defendant is served. However, in many cases, the seal is partially lifted and the defendant is served prior to the whistleblower case being made public.

The truth of the matter, though, is that a qui tam case is never under seal for just 60 days. The FCA, the government can ask for extensions of the seal period if they can show it is for good cause. This happens regularly and continuously to the point where many qui tam cases remain confidential for years.

How Long Do Qui Tam Cases Remain Under Seal?

July 28, 2017

Pharmaceutical Manufacturer Celgene to Pay $280 Million for Fraud Allegations

by Gregory J. Brod

andres-de-armas-103880-copy-300x200 On July 24, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California announced that Celgene Corp., a pharmaceutical manufacturer headquartered in New Jersey, will pay $280 million to numerous states and the federal government to settle claims that it submitted false claims to the federal government and state health programs. From the settlement, $259.3 million will go to the federal government, $20.7 million will be divided among 28 states and the District of Columbia. California is set to receive more than any other state at $4.7 million.

U.S. ex rel. Brown v. Celgene Corp.

The settlement is the result of a whistleblower lawsuit filed by Beverly Brown under the qui tam provision of the False Claims Act. Brown, who was a sales manager at Celgene, brought a lawsuit on behalf of the federal and state governments. She provided evidence that Celgene promoted two cancer drugs, Thalomid and Revlimid, for uses that were not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and therefore not covered by federal healthcare programs.

July 21, 2017

DOJ Announces Largest Health Care Fraud Enforcement in Department History

by Gregory J. Brod

david-everett-strickler-196946-copy-300x195 On July 13, Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Tom Price, M.D., announced the Department of Justice’s largest ever health care fraud enforcement action. The work of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, established in 2007, led to 412 defendants being charged with health care fraud offenses based on information they all participated in fraudulent schemes to obtain about $1.3 billion in false billings to Medicare, Medicaid, and TRICARE. Additionally, HHS has begun the suspension process against 295 health care providers’ licenses.

Hundreds of Individuals Charged With Health Care Fraud

Of the 412 defendants, 115 are physicians, nurses, and other licensed medical professionals. Many of these defendants were charged with federal crimes for prescribing medically unnecessary drugs and compound medications, many of which were not actually distributed to the patients or purchased. Providers could then bill for these unnecessary or unpurchased medications and receive a greater amount of reimbursements from state and federal health services.

July 7, 2017

DOJ Cases Against Major Insurer United Health Group Continue

by Gregory J. Brod

There are currently two False Claims Act (FCA) qui tam cases against United Health Group (UHG) pending in the Central District of California. The cases are: U.S. ex rel. Benjamin Poehling v. UnitedHealth Group, Inc. and U.S. ex rel. Swoben v. Secure Horizons, et al. The cases were brought by James Swoben, who was previously an employee of Senior Care Action Network Health Plan and a consultant within the risk adjustment industry, and Benjamin Poehling, who was the former finance director of a UHG group that managed the insurer’s Medicare Advantage Plans.

The Qui Tam Cases Against UHG

On May 2, the U.S. intervened in the Swoben False Claims Act suit against UHG based on the allegations the insurer overcharged Medicare Advantage and prescription drug programs. In the DOJ’s complaint, it alleges the insurer knowingly ignored patients’ medical conditions to increase payments it received from Medicare and funded chart reviews to increase the risk adjustment payments it reviewed. However, any information the reviews uncovered regarding misdiagnoses were disregarded to avoid repaying Medicare.