The federal government notched the second highest number of False Claims Act settlements in history and judgments in the last fiscal year, and two legal experts said the long-term care industry should be warned that that pace will likely continue.
The Department of Justice announced that settlements and judgments in False Claims Act cases exceeded $2.2 billion with the vast majority — $1.7 billion — stemming from healthcare cases. In addition, the department’s press release noted that $1.9 billion of the total was related to qui tam, or whistleblower, cases.
The lengthy release detailed several high-profile cases, including several involving nursing homes and senior care, and the categories under which the Department of Justice pursued them. The department highlighted the case against American Health Foundation and three affiliated facilities — Cheltenham Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Philadelphia, PA; the Sanctuary at Wilmington Place in Dayton, OH; and Samaritan Care Center and Villa in Medina, OH – for providing “grossly substandard skilled nursing services” between 2016 and 2018.
Mysty Blagg, an attorney with Shipman & Wright LLP who is a former healthcare compliance investigator, said the releases tend to highlight the enforcement agency’s priorities. She said the release highlighted a case involving cybersecurity so nursing home operators should take the hint and focus on protecting patient personal and medical data.
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