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If the past year is any indication, companies and practitioners involved in medical testing are facing increasing scrutiny under the False Claims Act. We believe that recent trends show just how vital whistleblowers will be to addressing medical testing fraud in the near future.

Not only has the use of telemedicine risen to unprecedented levels during the Covid-19 pandemic, but the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) decided to relax Medicare coverage rules regarding telemedicine last year. As a result, telemedicine represents a relatively uncharted frontier in the health care industry, offering hopes of increased access and care

During the Covid-19 pandemic, the number of Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) beneficiaries using telemedicine skyrocketed by 13,000%, according to CMS administrator Seema Verma. In fact, during a single three-month span in 2020, over 9 million Medicare FFS beneficiaries utilized some form of telehealth services. While the opportunity for increased medical access afforded by telemedicine is great,

Medicare fraud is as prevalent as ever, with billions of taxpayer dollars lost each year. However, recent developments show that the Department of Justice (DOJ) has renewed its emphasis on aggressively pursuing healthcare fraud through the False Claims Act (FCA) and recovering tens of millions of dollars in settlements for whistleblowers. Bayada Settles FCA Lawsuit

Sutter Health, the largest hospital system in Northern California, agreed last week to pay $90 million to settle recent allegations of Medicare Advantage fraud. This is the second largest Medicare Advantage fraud settlement ever reported and the largest such settlement brought under the False Claims Act. Between 15-30% of this amount will go to the

Oglethorpe Inc. and Cardiologist Dinesh Shah settle billing fraud claims brought through the False Claims Act.

The Depart of Justice shows commitment to combatting healthcare fraud through recent multi-million settlments with companies Athena and Biogen.

AseraCare is facing a whistleblower lawsuit from the US Government based on the False Claims Act. This case could set a precedent for future qui tam FCA cases, and to understand its impact we first need to understand the case itself.

In United States v. AseraCare, whistleblowers and government prosecutors obtained a substantial partial verdict against AseraCare, a for-profit home hospice company. The Government argued, and the jury agreed, that AseraCare was deliberately enrolling and billing Medicare for patients who were not eligible for hospice care. The district court, however, ultimately granted summary judgment in favor of AseraCare.

Whistleblowers exposed Beaver Medical Group, L.P. for fraudulently misrepresenting its patients’ diagnoses to make them appear sicker in order to receive greater compensation. Ultimately, they agreed to pay the Government over $5 million and the whistleblower received $850,000. However, there was no determination of liability.