A settlement has been reached in a whistleblower class action lawsuit brought against HealthSouth Corporation who is accused of defrauding Medicare and other government health programs.
The settlement grew out of a lawsuit filed in San Antonio by several whistle-blowers under the federal False Claims Act. One of the whistleblowers will receive $8.1 million of the settlement, with others receiving lesser amounts.
Under the agreement, HealthSouth will pay:
• $169 million for improper reimbursement claims for outpatient physical therapy services provided under Medicare, Defense Department or Labor Department programs.
• $89 million for unallowed costs HealthSouth included on its Medicare hospital cost reports and home office cost statements.
• $65 million for other unallowable costs submitted to Medicare.
• $1.7 million for improper skilled nursing costs billed to Medicare and unallowed costs submitted by a subsidiary in Bakersfield, Calif.
