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U.S. Court in Florida Dismisses Whistleblower’s Complaint Against Nuclear Pharmacy

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

On September 28, 2017, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida dismissed a relator’s (whistle blower’s) False Claims Act (FCA) complaint against a nuclear pharmacy in Tampa. The court found that the relator failed to plead fraud with the required amount of specificity that the law requires. The case awas filed against GE Healthcare, Inc.’s nuclear pharmacy.

The Allegations.

GE Healthcare operates 31 nuclear pharmacies in the United States, where it produces radiopharmaceuticals through a process of compounding drugs. The relator was a board-certified nuclear pharmacist who formerly worked at GE Healthcare, Inc.’s nuclear pharmacy in Tampa, Florida. The relator’s allegations included the manner in which GE compounded and labeled radiopharmaceuticals. More specifically, the whistle blower claimed that GE sold diluted and […]

Health Care Software Double-Bills Government For Anesthesia Services According to FCA Suit

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

On November 2, 2017, a relator in a Florida federal False Claims Act (FCA) case, claimed that Epic Systems’ (Epic) health software wrongly defaults to double-billing for anesthesia services. As a result, the government is being overbilled by hundreds of millions of dollars, according to relator Geraldine Petrowski.

The Relator’s Allegations.

In an amended complaint, the relator alleges Epic billing software, used by hundreds of hospitals in the United States, defaults to charging for both the applicable “base units” for anesthesia provided on a procedure, as well as the actual time taken for the procedure. “This unlawful billing protocol has resulted in the presentation of hundreds of millions of dollars in fraudulent bills for anesthesia services being submitted to Medicare and Medicaid as false claims,” Petrowski said.

The relator […]

Florida Federal Judge Triples Award to $347 Million in Rare Whistleblower Case

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

On March 1, 2017, a Florida federal judge tripled a $115 million damages award for the government to $347 million after a jury found that the operators of 53 nursing facilities submitted false claims to Medicare and Medicaid. U.S. District Judge, Steven D. Merryday, upheld the jury’s $115 award affirming that the operators of the 53 nursing facilities had violated the False Claims Act (FCA). The case is U.S. ex rel. Ruckh v. CMC II LLC et al., case number 8:11-cv-01303, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida.

The whistleblower in the case, Angela Ruckh, a former nurse at two of the facilities, brought the allegations against four defendants that they had submitted false claims and fraudulent records to the government. […]

U.S. Court in Florida Dismisses Whistleblower’s Complaint Against Nuclear Pharmacy

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

On September 28, 2017, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida dismissed a relator’s (whistle blower’s) False Claims Act (FCA) complaint against a nuclear pharmacy in Tampa. The court found that the relator failed to plead fraud with the required amount of specificity that the law requires. The case awas filed against GE Healthcare, Inc.’s nuclear pharmacy.

The Allegations.

GE Healthcare operates 31 nuclear pharmacies in the United States, where it produces radiopharmaceuticals through a process of compounding drugs. The relator was a board-certified nuclear pharmacist who formerly worked at GE Healthcare, Inc.’s nuclear pharmacy in Tampa, Florida. The relator’s allegations included the manner in which GE compounded and labeled radiopharmaceuticals. More specifically, the whistle blower claimed that GE sold diluted and […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T10:01:35-04:00May 15, 2018|Categories: Nursing Law Blog|Tags: False Claims Act (FCA) attorney, False Claims attorney, FCA defense attorney, FCA legal representation, health care fraud defense attorney, health law defense attorney, legal representation for allegations of health care fraud, legal representation for FCA complaints, legal representation for FCA investigations, legal representation for qui tam cases, legal representation for qui tam investigations, legal representation for Whistleblower complaints, legal representation for Whistleblower investigations, qui tam attorney, qui tam defense attorney, relator attorney, relator defense attorney, reviews of The Health Law Firm, the health law firm, The Health Law Firm attorney reviews, whistleblower attorney, whistleblower defense attorney|Comments Off

Florida Federal Judge Triples Award to $347 Million in Rare Whistleblower Case

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

On March 1, 2017, a Florida federal judge tripled a $115 million damages award for the government to $347 million after a jury found that the operators of 53 nursing facilities submitted false claims to Medicare and Medicaid. U.S. District Judge, Steven D. Merryday, upheld the jury’s $115 award affirming that the operators of the 53 nursing facilities had violated the False Claims Act (FCA). The case is U.S. ex rel. Ruckh v. CMC II LLC et al., case number 8:11-cv-01303, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida.

The whistleblower in the case, Angela Ruckh, a former nurse at two of the facilities, brought the allegations against four defendants that they had submitted false claims and fraudulent records to the government. The four […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T10:01:37-04:00May 15, 2018|Categories: Health Facilities Law Blog|Tags: False Claims Act (FCA) violations, FCA defense attorney, legal counsel for Medicare audit, legal representation for FCA violations, Legal representation for Medicare fraud, legal representation for overbilling Medicare and Medicaid, legal representation for submitting false claims to the government, legal representation for whistleblower, Medicaid fraud defense attorney, Medicare and Medicaid fraud defense attorney, Medicare false claims, Medicare fraud defense attorney, qui taim, qui tam relator, qui tam suits, reviews of The Health Law Firm, The Health Law Firm attorney reviews, whistleblower defense attorney|Comments Off

Judge Refuses to Dismiss Whistleblower’s False Research Data Suit Against Duke University and Two Faculty Members

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

On April 27, 2017, a federal judge in North Carolina refused to dismiss a False Claims Act (FCA) lawsuit against Duke University and some of its faculty. The suit alleges that Duke knowingly falsified medical research data in order to get federal grants. According to the judge, the whistleblower in the suit had adequately stated his case against the defendants.

The case was originally filed in West Virginia but was later transferred to a federal district court in North Carolina. The full case caption is United States of America, ex rel. Joseph M. Thomas, Plaintiff, vs. Duke University, Duke University Health System, Inc., William M. Foster, Ph.D., and Erin N. Potts-Kant, U.S. Dist. Ct. Middle Dist. N.C., Case No. 1:17-cv-276.

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Owner of Louisiana-Based Health Care Company Ordered To Pay Nearly $7 Million for Medicaid Fraud

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

On December 20, 2016, the owner of Louisiana-based Millennium Health Care Services (Millennium) was ordered to pay the state nearly $7 million in restitution and will spend 10 years behind bars for his role in a scheme to defraud the Medicaid system, according to Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry.

Millennium’s owner, Dwaine Woods, was ordered to pay $6,985,249 in restitution after his wife and the company were all found guilty of engaging in a criminal conspiracy to create multiple fake CPR cards for Millennium staff. The staff did not undergo training to be properly certified in CPR, Landry said.

The Dangerous Scheme.

Millennium operated from 2004 to 2010 and was solely funded by the government program Medicaid. According to Landry, the fake CPR card scheme was not […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T10:02:00-04:00May 15, 2018|Categories: Nursing Law Blog|Tags: Colorado Medicaid Fraud defense attorney, District of Columbia (D.C.) Medicaid Fraud defense attorney, Florida Medicaid Fraud defense attorney, health care fraud defense attorney, health care fraud investigation defense lawyer, Kentucky Medicaid Fraud defense attorney, legal counsel for Medicaid audits, legal counsel for whistleblower, legal represenation for qui tam cases, legal representation for conspiracy for defraud the government, legal representation for conspiracy to commit Medicaid fraud, legal representation for Medicaid audits, legal representation for Medicaid fraud, legal representation for qui tam/whistblower investigations, legal representation for whistleblower suits, Louisiana Medicaid Fraud defense attorney, Medicaid fraud defense attorney, Medicaid investigation defense attorney, qui tam defense attorney, reviews of The Health Law Firm, The Health Law Firm attorney reviews, Virginia Medicaid Fraud defense attorney, whistleblower defense attorney|Comments Off