Louisville, Ky.-based Signature Healthcare, which operates 116 skilled nursing facilities across the nation, has agreed to pay more than $30 million to settle False Claims Act allegations, according to the Department of Justice.
The settlement resolves allegations the company engaged in several practices that resulted in the submission of false claims to Medicare and Medicaid.
The government alleged Signature placed patients in the highest therapy reimbursement level without performing individualized evaluations to determine the level of care most appropriate for each patient. The government further alleged Signature pressured therapists and patients to complete the minimum number of minutes of therapy required to bill at a given reimbursement level, even when patients were sick or declined to participate in the therapy.
The allegations against Signature were originally brought by two former employees in a lawsuit filed under the qui tam, or whistle-blower, provisions of the False Claims Act.
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