August 23, 2013 – The Georgia Attorney General, Samuel Olens, announced that his office has intervened in a federal whistleblower lawsuit filed against several Georgia hospitals, including Health Management Associates, Inc. (“HMA”), Tenet Healthcare, and several of their subsidiaries.
August 23, 2013 – The Georgia Attorney General, Samuel Olens, announced that his office has intervened in a federal whistleblower lawsuit filed against several Georgia hospitals, including Health Management Associates, Inc. (“HMA”), Tenet Healthcare, and several of their subsidiaries.
In a press release, the Georgia Department of Law called the case “a massive Medicaid fraud scheme related to illegal kickbacks.” The lawsuit alleges that beginning as early as 2000, the defendant hospitals entered into contracts with Clinica de la Mama, for translation and other services. In reality, the goal of the contracts was for Clinica to recruit Spanish-speaking pregnant women, living in the U.S. illegally, to the defendant hospitals for Medicaid billable services. The defendant hospitals would then pay Clinica kickbacks from the fraudulent Medicaid claims.
On behalf of the State of Georgia, the Complaint alleges violations of the Georgia Medicaid False Claims Act, the Georgia Medical Assistance Act and several common law claims. The federal complaint, was originally filed on behalf of a whistleblower, the former chief financial officer for HMA, who says the kickback scheme went on for more than a decade. Under the False Claims Act, the whistleblower may receive up to 25% of whatever the government recovers.
In addition to the Georgia laws violated, the federal lawsuit alleges violations of the Federal False Claims Act and the the Medicare and Medicaid Patient Protection Act, known as the Anti-Kickback Statute. The Anti-Kickback Statute prohibits hospitals from paying a person or entity to recruit and refer Medicaid patients.
If you have information about kick-backs or compensated referrals involving a government healthcare program, you be able to help the government recover funds and receive up to 30% of the recovery, by becoming a whistleblower.
Our firm handles Georgia Medicaid Fraud cases and Medicaid and Medicare Fraud cases nationwide. Contact us any time for a free, confidential consultation at 1-888-372-8387 or submit an online inquiry on this website.
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