In U.S. ex rel. Poehling v. UnitedHealth Group, Inc., the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California partially granted UnitedHealth’s motion to dismiss the government’s FCA claims, which were based on the allegation that UnitedHealth’s attestations as to the truth and accuracy of the risk adjustment data submitted were false because the district court found that the government had failed to plead the attestations were material to the payment decision, as required by the Supreme Court’s decision in Escobar. The district court declined to dismiss the remaining claims, including an FCA claim added by the government after its complaint in the similar Swoben case was dismissed (which we discussed here), which alleged a violation of the reverse false claims provisions due to failure to delete invalid diagnosis codes without reference to the attestation. The district court did grant the government leave to amend, with the second amended complaint to be filed by February 26, 2018.
Continue Reading Government Survives Dismissal of Remaining FCA Claims in Managed Care Case
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Dismissal of Medicare Advantage FCA Suit Marks Significant Defeat for Government
By Angela Bergman on
Posted in C.C.Cal., Managed Care
Background
The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California recently dismissed a complaint-in-intervention filed by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) in U.S. ex rel. Swoben v. Secure Horizons. As previously reported, in this significant test case, DOJ filed its complaint on May 1, 2017, as to the UnitedHealth Group parties (collectively, UnitedHealth), marking the first time that DOJ joined a whistleblower suit alleging FCA violations regarding Medicare Advantage. The complaint alleged that the “risk adjustment” payments, which account for the severity of patient conditions as compared to an average Medicare fee-for-service beneficiary, were boosted by ignoring questionable diagnoses.Continue Reading Dismissal of Medicare Advantage FCA Suit Marks Significant Defeat for Government
Second DOJ Complaint: Knowledge of Invalid Codes Requires Follow-Through to Avoid Liability
By Bass, Berry & Sims on
Posted in C.C.Cal., Managed Care
The DOJ’s recent complaint-in-intervention in US ex rel. Poehling v. United Health Group—one of two qui tam cases against United Health currently pending in the Central District of California—emphasizes the government’s view that, in order to avoid FCA liability based on allegedly inflated risk adjustment scores for Medicare Advantage members, health plans must follow up on any information they know or have reason to know indicating that providers are submitting or have submitted invalid codes to the health plan.
Continue Reading Second DOJ Complaint: Knowledge of Invalid Codes Requires Follow-Through to Avoid Liability