False Claims Act Whistleblower to Receive $4 million for Reporting Medicare Billing Violations
Washington, D.C. September 28, 2016. The Department of Justice announced today that Sylvia Daniel, a former health information coder at Vibra Hospital of Southeastern Michigan, will receive at least $4 million for a False Claims Act (FCA) case she filed on behalf of the United States.
Daniel filed an action against Vibra Healthcare LLC (Vibra), a national hospital chain headquartered in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, in which the Department of Justice intervened. Today’s announcement states that Vibra has agreed to $32.7 million, plus interest, to resolve claims that Vibra violated the False Claims Act by billing Medicare for medically unnecessary services.
“Medicare beneficiaries are entitled to receive care that is determined by their clinical needs and not the financial interests of healthcare providers,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “All providers of taxpayer-funded federal healthcare services, whether contractors or direct billers, will be held accountable when their actions cause false claims for medically unnecessary services to be submitted.”
Daniel’s allegations, resolved by this settlement, were originally filed under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act which allows a private party, known as a relator, to file an action on behalf of the United States and receive a portion of the recovery. Daniel will receive at least $4 million.
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