STUDIO CITY—The U.S. Department of Justice announced on Monday, July 13 details of a false claim suit filed against Longwood Management Corporation along with 27 other affiliates for filing fraudulent Medicare documents.
The Los Angeles based company operates 30 nursing homes and health-care centers and agreed to pay a $16.7 million settlement to resolve allegations they violated the False Claims Act by submitting false claims to Medicare for rehabilitation therapy services that were not necessary forms of treatment.
The False Claims Act is a federal law imposed to ensure the liability on a persons or company for defrauding a government program.
“The settlement resolves allegations that Longwood submitted false claims for rehabilitation therapy by engaging in a systematic effort to increase Medicare billings. Medicare reimburses skilled nursing facilities at a daily rate that reflects the skilled therapy and nursing needs of qualifying patients. The greater the patient’s needs, the higher the level of Medicare reimbursement,” states the press release.
The fraudulent activity reportedly happened at 6 facilities from May 1, 2008 through August 1, 2012 and 21 others from January 1, 2006 through October 10, 2014. As part of the settlement, Longwood will be in a five-year Corporate Integrity Agreement with the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, requiring independent review of all Medicare billing and the reasoning behind the treatment plans.
The Civil Division of the Department of Justice, the U.S. Department of Health, Human Services Office of the Inspector General, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Alabama and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California collaborated on the case.
