On Friday, Acadia Healthcare Company Inc. (NASDAQ:ACHC) agreed to pay $16.6 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by billing federal healthcare programs for unnecessary or non-compliant inpatient behavioral health services.
The company operates facilities across the United States. Four states involved in the case—Florida, Georgia, Michigan, and Nevada—will receive additional settlements of $3.2 million.
The allegations stemmed from Acadia’s conduct between 2014 and 2017, during which it allegedly admitted patients ineligible for inpatient treatment and kept them longer than necessary.
The United States contended that Acadia failed to provide adequate staffing and supervision, leading to serious harm to patients, including suicides and assaults. Additionally, the company was accused of failing to provide services that met federal and state standards, including insufficient therapy and discharge planning.
As a result, Acadia billed Medicare, Medicaid, and TRICARE for services that did not comply with required regulations.
New York Times report noted that the government is investigating Acadia’s recent practices, as reported by multiple former employees from Georgia and Missouri who have recently spoken with agents from the FBI and the Health and Human Services Department’s inspector general’s office.
In Georgia, these employees, who worked in hospital emergency rooms assessing patients’ needs for psychiatric...
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