ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER
Kickbacks Allegedly Made By Remote Patient Monitoring Provider
Government Alleged Unlawful Payments To Marketer
How Qui Tam Cases Work
Healthcare providers in the U.S., including sellers of medical products and devices, hospitals and clinics, are subject to a number of statutes to prevent any fraudulent billing under government programs like Medicare and Medicaid. One important such law is the Anti-Kickback Statute, 42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7b, which prohibits kickbacks to physicians for patient referrals for services covered by Medicare and Medicaid (known as Medi-Cal in California). When the providers violate the Anti-Kickback Statute or certain other federal healthcare laws, they also violate the False Claims Act (“FCA”), 31 U.S.C. §§ 3729-3733, for submitting false claims for payment to the government. One of the underlying protections against fraud in the healthcare field is Individuals with information about this kind of scheme can be rewarded for bringing this kind of illegal practice to light. 31 U.S.C. § 3730(b). The California whistleblower attorneys at Evans Law Firm, Inc. represents individuals who bring FCA cases based for any kind of fraud against Medicare or Medicaid or other government-sponsored healthcare programs. If you have credible, original information of healthcare fraud, call us today at (415)441-8669 or toll-free at (888)-50EVANS (503-8267) and we can help.
Anti-Kickback Case Settlement
According to a recent U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) press release,[1] a company that provides remote patient monitoring services to patients with Type 2 diabetes has agreed to pay $4.9 million to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by unlawfully paying a marketing service for referrals of Medicare beneficiaries. “Kickback schemes waste valuable Medicare funds and undermine the integrity of medical decision-making,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Ricardo M. Carcas of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “Our agency will continue to thoroughly investigate health care fraud, including the emerging area of allegations related to remote patient monitoring.”
The civil settlement includes the resolution of claims brought by private individuals, on behalf of the United States, under the qui tam (commonly known as “whistleblower”) provisions of the False Claims Act. Under those provisions, a private party can file an action on behalf of the United States and receive a portion of any recovery if the government takes over the case and obtains judgment against or reaches a monetary agreement with the defendant.
How False Claims Act Whistleblower Cases Work
Cases such as this one are often initiated under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the FCA. 31 U.S.C. § 3730(b). The FCA allows private parties to sue on behalf of the government for false claims, and to receive a share of any recovery. 31 U.S.C. § 3730(b) (procedures for initiating qui tam actions). The suit is filed confidentially and remains under seal giving the government time to review the allegations in the case. If the government decides to intervene, the government essentially takes over the case. If the government declines to intervene, the plaintiff has the right to continue the suit of their own. The whistleblowers stand to receive up to 15-30% of the settlement in accordance with 31 U.S.C. § 3730(d)(1) and (2).
Contact Us
If you have information of healthcare fraud against the federal government or the State of California occurring here in San Francisco or elsewhere in the State, contact Ingrid M. Evans at Evans Law Firm at (415) 441-8669, or toll-free at (888)-50EVANS (503-8267) or by email at <a href=”mailto:info@evanslaw.com”>info@evanslaw.com</a>. In addition to False Claims cases, Ingrid also represents individual whistleblowers in qui tam cases involving bank fraud under FIRREA/FIAFEA, commodity trading and securities fraud under the Commodities Futures Trading Commission Whistleblower Program and the Securities and Exchange Commission Whistleblower Program, and tax fraud under the Internal Revenue Service Whistleblower Program
[1] Evans Law Firm, Inc. was not involved in the case in any way.
