DaVita Rx LLC, a nationwide pharmacy specialized in serving patients with severe kidney disease has agreed to resolve allegations that the company defrauded the Government through improper overbilling of the Medicare and Medicaid healthcare programs for medications that were never shipped, billing for medications that did not comply with documentation requirements, and failing to reverse claims and reimburse Government for uncollected medications. Based in Coppell, Texas, DaVita Rx is a nationwide full-service provider of specialty pharmacy medications, including medications for dialysis centers, to over 2000 dialysis centers among 46 states.
DaVita Rx has agreed to pay $63.7 Million to settle the allegations arising out of its self-disclosures and the whistleblower or qui tam lawsuit filed by two former employees. Furthermore, the allegations resolved by the settlement also include that DaVita Rx paid financial inducements to Federal Healthcare Program beneficiaries in violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute, by writing off unpaid beneficiary debt and extending discount to beneficiaries who paid for their medications by credit card.
The alleged wrongdoing was brought to the Government’s attention by two former employees, Patsy Gallian and Monique Jones, who filed a qui tam lawsuit filed in 2016 under the provisions of the False Claims Act. In that case, the two whistleblowers alleged in their complaint that DaVita Rx defrauded the Medicare and Medicaid programs, and thus violated the False Claims Act. The alleged frauds include billing for drugs without having signed prescriptions, billing for medications that are never shipped, shipping and charging for medications that were never picked up by patients and never returning the charges to government, improperly billing for medications that were shipped to dialysis centers and permitting discrepancies to exist in the system that caused incorrect reimbursement amounts and duplicate claims. The former employees who brought the lawsuit claim that the company’s improper billing practices dated back to 2006.
Out of $63.7 million settlement payout, DaVita Rx repaid $ 22.2 million to federal healthcare programs and will pay an additional $38.3 million to United States. As part of the settlement agreement, $3.2 million will be allocated to cover Medicaid claims by states involved in the settlement. Pursuant to the whistleblower reward provisions of the federal False Claims Act, the two relators, who are the former employees of the company that blew the whistle on the fraud, will receive approximately $2.1 million from the federal recovery as their reward for their role in exposing the healthcare fraud scheme.
If you are aware of a company that is engaging in government programs fraud, do not hesitate to take action. The law firm of Tycko & Zavareei LLP may be able to assist you in bringing your own qui tam lawsuit under the False Claims Act, acting as a whistleblower on behalf of the U.S. government. Successful qui tam whistleblowers can receive, as their reward, between 15% and 30% of the amount recovered for 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 a lawyer within our firm.