2 December – LAWFUEL – First for law, attorney, law firm news – Marcos Daniel Jiménez, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida,
announced today that Polymedica Corporation, a company based in Woburn,Massachusetts, and its wholly-owned subsidiaries, Liberty Medical Supply, Inc. and Liberty Home Pharmacy Corporation, which operate out of Port-St.-Lucie, Florida, have agreed to pay $35 million to resolve multiple allegations of False Claims Act violations concerning their submission of Medicare claims without proper
documentation.
Specifically, Polymedica and its subsidiaries have agreed to resolve allegations
that they violated the False Claims Act when Liberty Medical Supply and Liberty Home
Pharmacy submitted claims for reimbursement to the Medicare program for various
diabetic and nebulizer products without (a) first obtaining a signed doctor’s order
or prescription for the products, (b) first obtaining and maintaining documentation
verifying the necessity of treatment volumes in excess of administrative guidelines,
and documentation of the actual use of these products, (c) maintaining documentary
proof of an oral order from the treating physician prior to shipping a product, or
obtaining a written doctor order or prescription prior to shipping the product, and
(d) obtaining written authority from the beneficiary to bill Medicare on the
beneficiary’s behalf prior to submitting a bill to Medicare. The settlement also
resolves certain administrative violations related to this conduct.
“Our commitment to pursuing companies who falsely appropriate the resources of the
Medicare Program continues unabated,” said Mr. Jiménez. “The resources of the
Medicare Program must be vigorously protected in order to ensure their availability
to serve the needs of the elderly.”
The investigation was prompted by a former employee of Liberty Medical Supply who
filed a qui tam, or whistleblower action, under the False Claims Act. Under those
provisions, a private party can file an action on behalf of the United States and
receive a portion of the settlement if the government reaches a monetary agreement
with the defendants. As a result of today’s settlement, the claimant will receive a
percentage, as yet undetermined, of the total recovery as the claimant’s statutory
award.
Mr. Jiménez commended the investigative efforts of the Federal Bureau of
Investigation; United States Department of Health and Human Services, Office of
Inspector General; and United States Department of Health and Human Services, Office
of Audit Services. The case is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney
Marilynn K. Lindsey and Trial Attorneys Andrew Skowronek and Polly Dammann of the
Civil Division, Fraud Section, of the United States Department of Justice.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States
Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls
. Related court documents and information may be
found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at
www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on
.
