The corporate logo of the UnitedHealth Group appears on the side of one of their office buildings in Santa Ana, California, U.S., April 13, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo
(Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear a case over whether the federal government can dismiss a whistleblower lawsuit brought on its behalf without the whistleblower's consent, an issue that has divided appeals courts.
The case was brought against UnitedHealth Group Inc subsidiary Executive Health Resources Inc by a former employee, Jesse Polansky, who accused the company of falsely certifying inpatient hospital admissions as medically necessary, resulting in Medicare being overbilled by potentially billions of dollars.
Polansky had petitioned the Supreme Court in January to hear his appeal after the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last year ruled that the U.S. Justice Department could have his case thrown out over his objection.
Lawyers for EHR and Polansky did not immediately respond to requests for comment. EHR has denied the allegations in court filings.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Justice declined to comment. It had opposed Polansky's petition to the Supreme Court.
The federal False Claims Act allows private whistleblowers to sue a company for fraud on behalf of the government. The government may or may not intervene in such a case, and the whistleblower receives a portion of any recovery.
Polansky sued EHR in 2012 in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania....
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