West Chester Hospital and UC Health Settle False Medicare Claims for $4.1M; Whistleblowers to Get $800K
West Chester Hospital and its parent UC Health have agreed to pay the federal government $4.1 million to settle allegations that West Chester knowingly submitted or caused the submission of false claims to federal health care programs, the U.S. Department of Justice announced last week.
This settlement resolves allegations that West Chester Hospital knowingly submitted claims to Medicare and Medicaid for hospital charges related to medically unnecessary spine surgeries performed by Dr. Abubakar Atiq Durrani, a surgeon from Mason, Ohio, who had admitting privileges at West Chester Hospital. Durrani was arrested in July 2013 and charged with health care fraud violations relating to allegations that he performed medically unnecessary spine surgeries on patients residing in Ohio and Kentucky. Following his arraignment, Durrani allegedly fled the United States and remains a fugitive.
Medicaid is funded jointly by the states and the federal government. The state of Ohio and commonwealth of Kentucky paid for some of the Medicaid claims at issue and will receive approximately $72,000 of the settlement amount.
The civil settlement resolves a lawsuit filed under the whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act, which permit private parties to file suit on behalf of the United States for false claims and obtain a portion of the government’s recovery. The civil lawsuit was filed in the Southern District of Ohio by former patients of Durrani and is captioned United States ex rel. Scott, et al. v. Durrani, et al. As part of today’s resolution, the whistleblowers will receive approximately $800,000 from the federal share of the settlement.
The Chanler Group, in association with the Hirst Law Group, represents whistleblowers who take action under the False Claims Act to report fraud committed against the federal and state governments. We have years of experience representing whistleblower clients who expose every kind of fraud against the government, including health care fraud, contract fraud, and tax fraud. Read more about our expertise in False Claims Act cases and how you can take action.