A settlement reached to resolve False Claims Act Allegations against Vibra Healthcare LLC.
The allegations arose by a lawsuit claiming Vibra Healthcare LLC violated the False Claims Act by billing Medicare for medically unnecessary services.
“Medicare beneficiaries are entitled to receive care that is determined by their clinical needs and not the financial interests of healthcare providers,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “All providers of taxpayer-funded federal healthcare services, whether contractors or direct billers, will be held accountable when their actions cause false claims for medically unnecessary services to be submitted.”
According to the Department of Justice, between 2006 and 2013, Vibra Healthcare admitted several patients to five of its long term care hospitals and to one of its inpatient rehabilitation facilities who did not demonstrate signs or symptoms that would qualify them for admission. Additionally, Vibra Healthcare allegedly extended the stays of its long term care hospital patients without regard to medical necessity, qualification and/or quality of care. In several cases, Vibra Healthcare allegedly ignored the recommendations of its own clinicians, who deemed these patients ready for discharge.
As part of the settlement, Vibra Healthcare also agreed to enter into a chain-wide corporate integrity agreement with the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The whistleblowers' share of the settlement will be approximately $4 million.
