A home health agency has paid $2.1 million to settle claims of improper billing for services provided to patients in Florida, according to an announcement May 5, 2022, by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Kentucky, where the agency is headquartered.
 
According to a complaint filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida and the subsequent settlement agreement, the agency allegedly knowingly submitted false or fraudulent claims seeking payment from the Medicare Program for home health services to Medicare beneficiaries who:
  • weren’t homebound;
  • didn’t require certain skilled care;
  • didn’t have a valid or otherwise appropriate plans of care in place; and/or
  • didn’t have appropriate face-to-face encounters to be appropriately certified to receive home health services.
Also May 5, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey announced that a Tewksbury-based home health company will pay $550,000 to resolve allegations that it failed to obtain physician authorization confirming Medicaid services were medically necessary before submitting claims to the state.