Are you a rehab manager or therapist who thinks your facility is billing Medicare for therapy patients don’t need?
You may be a whistleblower. Under the federal False Claims Act, an employee who reports fraud against Medicare can bring a case on the government’s behalf. If the case succeeds, the employee receives a share of the recovery.
WHAT THIS FRAUD LOOKS LIKE
– Therapy that is excessive or unrelated to each patient’s needs.
– Patients placed at the highest billing level, “ultra high,” during a Medicare A stay.
– Therapy minutes recorded as individual therapy when group or concurrent therapy was provided.
Medicare has changed how it pays nursing homes for therapy since the case below. The law against false billing has not changed.
CASE EXAMPLE: REHABCARE, $125 MILLION
Janet Halpin, a former rehab manager at a Haverhill, Massachusetts nursing home, and Shawn Fahey, an occupational therapist, reported that RehabCare and its parent company Kindred billed Medicare for unreasonable and unnecessary therapy. The government joined the case, and RehabCare paid $125 million. The two whistleblowers received over $23 million. Jeff Newman Law represented them. They also recovered $3.9 million from Wingate Healthcare in a related case.
Q&A
What protections will I have from retaliation? Federal law protects employees from retaliation for reporting fraud. Call before you take any step at work.
What share of the recovery may a whistleblower receive? The law sets the whistleblower’s share, and it depends on whether the government joins the case. We’ll explain what applies to you.
How are legal fees structured? There is no fee unless we win. We work on contingency.
Call 617-823-3217 for a free, confidential consultation.
