Healogics to Pay $22M to Settle False Claims Act; Whistleblower to Get $4M
The Justice Department announced that Healogics, Inc. has agreed to pay up to $22.51 million to settle allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by knowingly causing wound care centers to bill Medicare for medically unnecessary and unreasonable hyperbaric oxygen (“HBO”) therapy. Healogics, a Florida-based company, manages nearly 700 hospital-based wound care centers across the country.
Medicare covers HBO therapy, a modality in which the entire body is exposed to oxygen under increased atmospheric pressure, as an adjunctive therapy to treat certain chronic wounds. The settlement announced today resolves allegations that Healogics knowingly submitted or caused the submission of false claims to Medicare for medically unnecessary or unreasonable HBO therapy.
Under the settlement, Healogics has agreed to pay $17.5 million, plus an additional $5.01 million if certain financial contingencies occur within the next five years, for a total potential payment of up to $22.51 million.
In addition to resolving its False Claims Act liability, Healogics has entered into a five-year Corporate Integrity Agreement with the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General which includes, among other things, a claims review and a systems review – both to be conducted by an Independent Review Organization.
The allegations resolved by this settlement arose from a lawsuit filed by James Wilcox, a former Director for Research and Quality for Medical Affairs at Healogics, and a separate lawsuit filed by Dr. Benjamin Van Raalte, Dr. Michael Cascio, and John Murtaugh, two doctors and a former program director who worked at Healogics-affiliated wound care centers. The lawsuits were filed under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act, which permit private citizens with knowledge of fraud against the government to bring an action on behalf of the United States and to share in any recovery. The settlement provides for a whistleblower share of up to $4,276,900.
The Chanler Group, in association with the Hirst Law Group, represents whistleblowers who take action under the False Claims Act to report fraud committed against the federal and state governments. We have years of experience representing whistleblower clients who expose every kind of fraud against the government, including health care fraud, contract fraud, and tax fraud. Read more about our expertise in False Claims Act cases and how you can take action.