On January 26, the U.S. Attorney for the District of South Carolina announced that Durable Medical Equipment (DME) companies Hill-Rom Holdings, Inc., Hill-Rom Company, Inc., Hill-Rom Services, Inc., and Advanced Respiratory Inc. (collectively, Hillrom) agreed to pay $2.1 million to resolve allegations of False Claims Act (FCA) violations. The company allegedly submitted false claims payments to the Medicare, TRICARE, Department of Veterans Affairs and Medicaid programs. The settlement stems from a qui tam whistleblower lawsuit filed by Jeri Harris, a former employee of Hillrom.
Several allegations were made against Hillrom. According to the government, “from January 1, 2011, through December 1, 2019, Hillrom’s Direct to Consumer division sold used Clinitron, TotalCare, and VersaCare beds but billed federal healthcare programs as if they were new beds. Also included in the settlement are allegations that Hillrom sold certain hospital beds and pressure support surfaces to beneficiaries of federal healthcare programs under a miscellaneous code, which sometimes resulted in a higher price paid by the government. The third allegation involves Hillrom’s presenting claims to the federal government and its contractors that mischaracterized travel time as DME repair time for it to be reimbursable by federal healthcare programs.”
“Millions of citizens depend on programs like Medicare and TRICARE for their healthcare, “ said Adair F. Boroughs, U.S. Attorney for the District of South Carolina. “Hillrom’s actions damage our federal health programs and impact the families who need them.”
The False Claims Act’s qui tam provision allows private citizens and private parties to file a lawsuit on behalf of the government against an individual or company defrauding the government. Qui tam whistleblowers can earn 15-30% of the funds recovered by the government in a successful FCA case. The FCA is considered one of the most robust and effective whistleblower laws in fighting fraud.
The result of this settlement was a cooperation between the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of South Carolina, the United States Department of Health and Human Services, the Office of Inspector General, the United States Defense Criminal Investigative Service with assistance from the Defense Health Agency; and the Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General.
On July 25, a bipartisan group of senators introduced the False Claims Amendments Act of 2023, which address a few technical loopholes undermining the success of the FCA. The bill is widely supported by whistleblower advocates.
“The False Claims Act is America’s number one fraud-fighting law,” said whistleblower attorney Stephen M. Kohn. “These amendments are urgently needed to ensure that whistleblowers can continue to play their key role in protecting taxpayers from corporate criminals.”
Kohn sees the passage of the False Claims Amendments Act as one of the seven most urgently needed whistleblower reforms. National Whistleblower Center (NWC), where Kohn serves as Chairman of the Board, has issued an Action Alert calling on Congress to pass the bill.
Join NWC in Taking Action:
Demand that Congress strengthen the False Claims Act
Further Reading:
Durable Medical Equipment Companies to Pay Millions in False Claims Settlement
Bipartisan Legislation Unveiled to Strengthen False Claims Act