St. Mary to Settle False Medicare Claims for $2.3M

St. Mary Medical Center has agreed to pay over $2.3 million to resolve allegations under the False Claims Act that it failed to administer certain contracts which led to overbilling from physicians, the Department of Justice announced last week. St. Mary voluntarily disclosed the allegations.

According to the self-disclosure and subsequent investigation, St. Mary admitted that it failed to administer certain terms for 15 recruited doctors and physicians with income guarantee agreements, resulting in false billing claims to federally funded programs, including Medicare and Medicaid. Income guarantee agreements offer assistance to physicians who are relocating their practice to a community to start a new practice, or to join an existing medical practice. After discovering the problem, St. Mary took steps to resolve the improper payments and voluntarily disclosed the matter to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Under the False Claims Act, private parties with knowledge of fraud against the government may sue on behalf of the government and share in the recovery.  Had there been a whistleblower in this case, their portion of the settlement may have been anywhere from 15 to 30 percent.

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.