Rehabilitation Therapy Provider to Pay $6.1 Million to Settle False Claims Act Allegations That it Paid Kickbacks to Nursing Homes for Rehabilitation Therapy Business
Physician Whistleblower Awarded Approximately $915,000
Seattle Whistleblower Attorneys report that Reliant Rehabilitation Holdings Inc. (Reliant), a national provider of rehabilitation therapy and related services headquartered in Plano, Texas, has agreed to pay the United States $6.1 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act (FCA), 31 U.S.C. §3729, et seq., by paying kickbacks to skilled nursing facilities and physicians in connection with care provided to Medicare beneficiaries as a way of improperly promoting Reliant’s rehabilitation therapy business.
The United States alleged that between April 1, 2013, and May 1, 2017, Reliant knowingly offered improper inducements, in the form of Reliant-employed nurse practitioners who worked at client nursing homes without charge or for a nominal, below fair market fee in order to induce or reward nursing homes for contracting with Reliant to provide rehabilitation therapy for their residents. The settlement between the United States and Reliant resolves this claim, as well as a separate allegation that Reliant violated the FCA by causing the submission of claims to Medicare that were tainted by improper contracts between Reliant and physicians working at skilled nursing facilities that offered the physicians above fair market compensation for supervising and collaborating with Reliant nurse practitioners in exchange for the facilities’ therapy business.
The allegations resolved by the settlement agreement were originally brought by Dr. Thomas Prose 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. Dr. Prose will receive approximately $915,000 of the settlement proceeds.
The case was handled by the Justice Department’s Civil Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Northern District of Texas. Investigative assistance was provided by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General.
The lawsuit is captioned United States ex rel. Prose v. Reliant Rehabilitation, Civil Action No. 3:16-CV-0707-D (N.D. Tex.). The claims settled by this agreement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.
Source: Dept. of Justice.
The United States alleged that between April 1, 2013, and May 1, 2017, Reliant knowingly offered improper inducements, in the form of Reliant-employed nurse practitioners who worked at client nursing homes without charge or for a nominal, below fair market fee in order to induce or reward nursing homes for contracting with Reliant to provide rehabilitation therapy for their residents. The settlement between the United States and Reliant resolves this claim, as well as a separate allegation that Reliant violated the FCA by causing the submission of claims to Medicare that were tainted by improper contracts between Reliant and physicians working at skilled nursing facilities that offered the physicians above fair market compensation for supervising and collaborating with Reliant nurse practitioners in exchange for the facilities’ therapy business.
The allegations resolved by the settlement agreement were originally brought by Dr. Thomas Prose 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. Dr. Prose will receive approximately $915,000 of the settlement proceeds.
The case was handled by the Justice Department’s Civil Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Northern District of Texas. Investigative assistance was provided by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General.
The lawsuit is captioned United States ex rel. Prose v. Reliant Rehabilitation, Civil Action No. 3:16-CV-0707-D (N.D. Tex.). The claims settled by this agreement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.
Source: Dept. of Justice.