Federal False Claims Act Penalties
August 30, 2019
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Penalties for violating the federal False Claims Act can be financially crushing to a medical or health care provider, running into the millions of dollars.
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The Federal False Claims Act (“FCA”) creates civil liability for entities that falsely or fraudulently contract with the government to provide services or goods in exchange of federal funds.
Since 1986, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) has recovered approximately $34 billion from the healthcare industry under the FCA. In fiscal year 2016 alone, nearly $2.6 billion was recovered in health care cases. The primary reason for the massive recoveries is a provision that allows whistleblowers to share as much as 30% of the treble damages and mandatory penalties awarded under the law.
The FCA imposes civil liability on any person who: (i) knowingly presents or causes to be presented a false or fraudulent claim; or (ii) knowingly makes, uses, or causes to be made or used a false record or statement material to a false or fraudulent claim. An entity that violates the FCA is liable to the government for three times the amount of actual damages the government sustains, in addition to a civil penalty ranging between $10,957 and $21,916 per claim.
During the past three years, the Florida Department of Health (“DOH”) has been extremely active investigating hospices and home health agencies for violations of the False Claims Act. Under Medicare Part A, payments will be made only if the individual’s attending physician and/or the medical director certify in writing that the services are medically necessary.
In 2016, Evercare Hospice & Palliative Care settled for $18 million with the DOH to resolve FCA allegations that it submitted claims to Medicare for patients not eligible for hospice because:
In 2014, Amedisys settled for $150 million for allegedly billing Medicare for nursing and therapy services that were medically unnecessary or provided to patients who were not homebound, and otherwise misrepresented patients’ conditions to increase Medicare payments.
In order to avoid False Claims Act liability, healthcare providers — including hospice and home health providers — are obligated to:
Healthcare providers need to implement compliance programs that monitor areas of risk such as performing unnecessary or excessive services; upcoding; failure to document patient care; worthless services; retention of an overpayment from a government health care program; and violations of the Anti-Kickback Statute and Stark Laws.
Physician certifications must be accompanied by clinical information and other documentation. Under Medicare Part A, a hospice needs to be certain that the physician’s clinical judgment can be supported by clinical information and other documentation that provide a basis for the certification of six months or less if the illness runs its normal course. A signed certification, absent a medically sound basis that supports the clinical judgment, is not sufficient for application of the hospice benefit under Medicare.
We at Chapman Law Group are solely focused on healthcare matters across the U.S., such as fighting FCA allegations and developing compliance programs for healthcare practices, including regulated facilities such as hospice and home health providers.
Our four national healthcare defense offices are in Detroit, Michigan; Miami and Sarasota, Florida; and Los Angeles/Southern California.
With lawyers dedicated to helping providers defend their claims during audits, recovery action and appeals, you are in strong hands. Contact us today for a consultation.
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Penalties for violating the federal False Claims Act can be financially crushing to a medical or health care provider, running into the millions of dollars.
New healthcare business ventures can easily, sometimes unknowingly run afoul of Stark Law, Anti-Kickback, and the False Claims Act. Here’s how to be sure you are being fully compliant and not violating any state and federal laws.
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