Another settlement that resulted in a monetary award for folks who decided to blow the whistle. On January 31, United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announced that LiveCare Inc. agreed to pay approximately $4.9 million to resolve allegations that the Venice, Florida-based medical company violated the Anti-Kickback Statute and False Claims Act.

LiveCare provides remote patient monitoring services to Type 2 diabetes patients. The government charged the company with paying a marketing service for Medicare beneficiary referrals.

The Anti-Kickback Statute bars paying or receiving kickbacks in exchange for patient referrals covered by Medicare/Medicaid or other government healthcare programs.  It is designed to keep medical decision making free from monetary influence and covers virtually any form of consideration to induce referrals.

In announcing the settlement, the government reinforced its commitment to going after healthcare kickbacks in whatever form they take. Handberg stressed that “violations of the Anti-Kickback Statute undermine the integrity of our healthcare system,” and how his office “will hold providers participating in the federal health care system accountable for these violations in order to preserve program funds and ensure the provision of appropriate services to patients.”

Acting HHS Special Agent Ricardo M. Carcas echoed this sentiment, noting “kickback schemes waste valuable Medicare funds and undermine the integrity of medical decision-making,” and that his “agency will continue to thoroughly investigate health care fraud, including the emerging area of allegations related to remote patient monitoring.”

According to Constantine Cannon whistleblower partner Gordon Schnell, “This settlement is just the latest in a constant stream of False Claims Act settlements involving healthcare kickbacks. It is a high priority enforcement area for the government which year over year has made it clear it has no tolerance for tainting medical decisions with financial inducements.”

Like the vast majority of False Claims Act cases, this one was originated by a whistleblower under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act. The whistleblower will receive an undisclosed award from the proceeds of the government’s recovery. Whistleblowers are especially important in uncovering illegal kickback arrangements which are often difficult to detect from the outside.

If you would like more information about healthcare kickbacks or what it means to be a whistleblower under the False Claims Act, or believe you have a potential case, please contact us.  We will connect you with an experienced member of our whistleblower team for a free and confidential consult.

Read LiveCare Inc. Resolves False Claims Act Allegations With $4.9 Million Settlement at constantinecannon.com