Baton Rouge, La.-based Amedisys, one of the country's largest providers of home health services, and its affiliates have agreed to pay the government $150 million to resolve allegations brought under the False Claims Act, according to the Department of Justice.
The lawsuit filed against Amedisys was brought under the qui tam, or whistle-blower, provision of the False Claims Act by former employees of the company. The lawsuit alleged Amedisys submitted improper claims to Medicare for reimbursement from 2008 to 2010 for therapy and nursing services that were medically unnecessary or provided to patients who were not homebound, according to the report.
The lawsuit also alleged Amedisys violated the Anti-Kickback Statute and Stark Law by engaging in improper financial relationships with referring physicians, including providing patient care coordination services at below market value, according to the report.
Along with paying the government $150 million, Amedisys has also agreed to follow the terms of a corporate integrity agreement written by HHS' Office of the Inspector General that requires the company to have compliance measures in place to ensure similar fraudulent conduct is avoided in the future, according to the report.
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