Oklahoma Heart Hospital (OHH) has agreed to pay $2.8 Million to settle U.S. and Oklahoma government claims that the hospital committed Medicaid Fraud. Jennifer Baird, a retired registered nurse, filed the complaint, which reported that her former employer, OHH was consistently billing Oklahoma’s Medicaid insurance program inpatient rates for outpatient procedures – regardless of whether a doctor ordered inpatient care or not.
Ms. Baird’s 2015 complaint, filed under the False Claims Act (FCA) and a similar Oklahoma law because Oklahoma administers its Medicaid program with federal funds. The practice of billing inpatient rates for outpatient service is more commonly known as “upcoding” and is a form of fraud. Specifically, in question was the hospital’s tendency to bill stent procedures at higher inpatient rates, which, according to Ms. Baird, are typically performed on an outpatient basis. According to the prosecutors who investigated the claim, the fraud lasted at least seven years.
Private citizens, like Ms. Baird, play a crucial role in holding healthcare providers accountable for their fraud by acting as whistleblowers on behalf of the government. These whistleblowers do not go without reward for their assistance. Successful whistleblowers receive up to 25 percent of the settlement amount of the case. “Under the False Claims Act, private citizens, also known as relators, can bring a suit on behalf of the United States and share in any recovery. … [These] relators are awarded 15 to 25 percent of the settlement amount depending on the extent to which the relator substantially contributed to the recovery.”
“Jennifferr did her best to resist the administrators who pushed this fraudulent billing scheme,” said R. Scott Oswald, managing principal of The Employment Law Group. “And she urged everyone she managed to do the same. But when she realized she was fighting a losing battle—and that the true victims were U.S. taxpayers—she appealed to a higher power: The U.S. legal system, which welcomes whistleblowers like her. I am pleased that it delivered.”
While OHH did not admit to fault outright in the matter of overbilling, the hospital operator did agree to settle the case, paying $2.8 million to both U.S. and Oklahoma government coffers. Additionally, the hospital operator has vowed to follow a new “Corporate Integrity Agreement” that will be enforced by the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
“I’m hopeful that the culture at Oklahoma Heart Hospital now will change,” said Ms. Baird. “The frontline medical team has always been great, but I think some hospital officials cared more about dollar signs than vital signs.”
Unfortunately, Ms. Baird’s “dollar signs and vital signs” sentiment is laced with fact as, historically, there have been many instances where whistleblowers have exposed healthcare providers that were taking financial advantage of the Medicaid system. If you have information about a company or individual committing fraud against the federal or state government, the Qui Tam Attorneys at Tycko & Zavareei are readily available to assist you with bringing forward a case. Our Qui Tam experts have years of experience litigating under the False Claims Act, and holding individuals and corporations accountable for fraud against the government. We have the expertise and the resources to provide you with guidance on whistleblowing cases relating to fraud within government programs, securities and commodities, tax payments, the banking industry, and more. We have won our clients millions of dollars in compensation as a result of their efforts working with our lawyers and the government. If you would like to consult with one of our False Claims Act attorneys, please fill out our Confidential Case Evaluation Form or call (202) 973-0900 to speak with one of our lawyers.