Oglethorpe Inc. Agrees to Pay $10.25 Million to Resolve False Claims Act Lawsuit
Florida based Oglethorpe Inc. and it’s three Ohio treatment facilities will pay $10.25 million to settle allegations of illegal patient kickback provisions, unnecessary inpatient admission, and the resulting submission of false claims to Medicare. The suit alleged that Oglethorpe’s treatment centers, which include two inpatient psychiatric hospitals and one substance abuse treatment facility, provided free long-distance transportation to induce patients to seek treatment at the facilities. Claims submitted to Medicare or Medicaid for services provided to these patients violate the Anti-Kickback Statute and therefore constitute false claims. The government also accused Oglethorpe of submitting claims for medically unnecessary inpatient admissions and associated services, which are also false claims.
The civil settlement resolves claims that were brought under the qui tam or whistleblower provision of the False Claims Act. The whistleblower in this case, a former client advocate at one of Oglethorpe’s facilities, will receive a percentage share of the total funds recovered.
Read the DOJ press release here: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/ohio-treatment-facilities-and-corporate-parent-agree-pay-1025-million-resolve-false-claims