Four Nursing Homes, Therapy Center to Pay $9.7M to Settle Up-Coding Allegations in Whistleblower Suit
July 12, 2019 | Aging Services Risk Management
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A physical therapy center and four nursing homes have agreed to pay a combined $9.7 million to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act (FCA) by engaging in an up-coding scheme in order to increase Medicare payments, according to a June 11, 2019, news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois.
A former employee of the therapy center filed a civil lawsuit in a federal district court under the whistleblower, or qui tam, provision of the FCA. Under that provision, whistleblowers—also called relators under the FCA—may file false claims lawsuits on behalf of the federal government. They may also share in the government's...