Home Healthcare Company Settles False Claims Act Violations
The home healthcare company allegedly violated the False Claims Act by submitting claims to Medicare for home healthcare services that beneficiaries did not need or were not eligible for.
Source: Getty Images
- Signature HomeNow, a home healthcare company operating in Florida, has reached a $2.1 million settlement to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act and fraudulently billed Medicare for unnecessary home healthcare services.
According to the settlement agreement and a complaint filed against the company in the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida, Signature HomeNow knowingly submitted false claims to Medicare between 2013 and 2017.
The fraudulent claims were allegedly for home healthcare services for Medicare beneficiaries who did not require such services. The beneficiaries were either not homebound, did not require skilled care, did not have valid or appropriate care plans, or did not have the necessary in-person visits to be appropriately certified to receive the home healthcare services.
The courts became aware of the fraudulent activity from a complaint submitted to the HHS Office of Inspect General (OIG) complaint hotline. In addition, they received a complaint for monetary damages under the whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act.
“When healthcare companies try to boost their profits by fraudulently billing federal healthcare programs, our agency will work closely with our law enforcement partners to hold them accountable for their schemes,” Tamala Miles, Special Agent in Charge of the HHS-OIG Atlanta Regional Office, said in the press release.
Signature HomeNow’s corporate headquarters are in Louisville, Kentucky, but the company operates home healthcare services in Florida.
“Overbilling Medicare by submitting false claims increases the cost of medical care for all and undermines the integrity of the Medicare program,” Michael A. Bennett, US Attorney for the Western District of Kentucky, stated. “This office will continue to vigorously pursue unscrupulous healthcare providers who attempt to defraud the Medicare program.”
HHS-OIG Atlanta Regional Office and HHS-OIG Miami investigated the case. Assistant US Attorneys of the Offices for the Western District of Kentucky and the Southern District of Florida managed the litigation.
Recently, DOJ has seen several cases of alleged False Claims Act violations and Medicare fraud.
A California doctor was sentenced to prison for nearly eight years after billing Medicare more than $12 million for unnecessary vein ablation procedures. The doctor used incorrect billing codes to receive higher reimbursement, a practice known as upcoding.
In April 2022, Physicians Partners of America reached a $24.5 million settlement to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by billing Medicare and Medicaid for medically unnecessary urine drug tests.
Also in April, Providence Health & Services Washington settled for $22.7 million after allegedly providing neurosurgeons with incentives to perform complex, medically unnecessary surgeries and then billing Medicare and Medicaid for these procedures.
Lawyers have noted that healthcare digitization, such as telehealth and EHR utilization, has led to a higher volume of healthcare fraud and False Claims Act cases, especially as the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the adoption of these technologies.
