A company that operates about 140 physical therapy clinics in five states, including Michigan, is settling civil allegations over false claims for services to federal health care programs.
Team Rehabilitation Services LLC, also known as Team Rehab, will pay $4.96 million to settle those allegations over violations of the False Claims Act, U.S. Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon Jr. said.
The district attorney's office said that from 2018 through 2024, Team Rehab "knowingly and improperly" applied certain health care billing information known as Current Procedural Terminology or CPT codes to cases. The example given was CPT codes intended for one-to-one physical therapy services when the patients instead participated in group setting sessions.
The result was higher billings than appropriate to the services submitted to Medicare, Medicaid, TRICARE, the Federal Health Benefits Program and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
"Improperly billing federal healthcare programs depletes valuable resources and erodes public trust," Gorgon said.
After learning of the United States' investigation in this case, the district attorney's office said that Team Rehab cooperated with the United States by identifying improper claims for payment and implementing compliance controls to prevent future overbilling.
This civil settlement resolved a sealed lawsuit originally filed under the whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act. The case is titled United States ex rel. Thornton v. Team...
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