Home Health & Hospice Week
Whistleblower Sparks $6.5M Fraud Settlement
A Tennessee home care organization and its owner have agreed to pay $6.5 million to settle charges that it submitted false claims to Medicare, TennCare and TriCare, according to the Department of Justice. The group of home health care companies collectively known as “Friendship” and owner Theophilus Egbujor also agreed to a Corporate Integrity Agreement.
The allegations resolved by the settlement were originally raised in a lawsuit filed against the Friendship companies and Egbujor by Kay Flippo, a licensed practical nurse who previously worked for Friendship Home Healthcare, the DOJ notes. Flippo’s share of the settlement has yet to be determined.
In her qui tam suit, Flippo accused the Friendship companies of a laundry list of misdeeds including forging signatures, falsifying documentation, and paying kickbacks to patients’ family members, according to press reports. Flippo claimed she was fired after reporting the violations to an accreditation surveyor.
Home Health & Hospice Week
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Whistleblower Sparks $6.5M Fraud Settlement
A Tennessee home care organization and its owner have agreed to pay $6.5 million to [...]
