MINNEAPOLIS – RehabAuthority, LLC, a physical therapy company with operations in Minnesota, has agreed to pay $4 million to resolve allegations that it submitted false claims for payment for outpatient physical therapy services in violation of the False Claims Act.
The settlement resolves allegations that, from January 1, 2014, to December 31, 2018, RehabAuthority clinics submitted or caused to be submitted false claims for payment to the government for outpatient physical therapy. The clinics, located in Minnesota, North Dakota, Idaho, and Wyoming, improperly billed Medicare Part B, Minnesota Medicaid, TRICARE, and the Veterans Health Administration for one-on-one outpatient physical therapy, including therapeutic exercises, manual therapy, ultrasounds, therapeutic activities, and gait training. The resolution centered on allegations that the company billed the government for direct, one-one-one care with physical therapists, but did not provide it when it overbooked government beneficiaries for certain outpatient physical therapy services.
The civil settlement includes the resolution of claims brought under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act against RehabAuthority. Under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act, a private party can file an action on behalf of the United States and receive a portion of the recovery. The qui tam case is captioned United States and the State of Minnesota ex rel. Cami Lane v. RehabAuthority, LLC, et al., No. 17-cv-5103 (DWF/ECW).
The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota, the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Defense Health Agency, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the Office of the Minnesota Attorney General, and the Minnesota Department of Human Services.
Acting U.S. Attorney W. Anders Folk of the District of Minnesota made the announcement.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Ann M. Bildtsen handled the matter.
The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.
