St. Peter’s Health in Helena, Montana recently reached a $10.8 million False Claims Act settlement over self-reported False Claims Act violations in which the company falsely billed several federal medical care programs on behalf of Tom Weiner, an oncologist. Weiner faces a separate federal civil lawsuit over allegations that he over-billed the government and overprescribed medications to patients.
The government alleged that between January 1, 2015, and December 31, 2020, St. Peter’s Health, when relying on Dr. Weiner’s documentation and certification, submitted claims that were false. The United States contends that St. Peter’s Health knew or should have known that Dr. Weiner was upcoding claims or submitting non-payable claims that did not meet the requirements of a significant, separately identifiable service, and therefore, St. Peter’s Health violated the False Claims Act by submitting those claims to Federal Health Care Programs.
Weiner served as the chief medical oncologist at St. Peter’s Cancer Treatment Center, working at the Center from 1996 until his suspension and ultimate firing in 2020. Weiner was the sole medical oncologist physician at the Center during the last four years of his career. According to the civil lawsuit, he would see between 50 and 70 patients most days.
St. Peter’s entered into the settlement agreement after self-reporting overpayment concerns about Weiner’s service billings. For example, he may administer chemotherapy to a patient and...
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