A Federal Court in Nashville awarded the United States $19,366,705 plus interest after finding that Renal Care Group (RCG), Renal Care Group Supply Company (RCGSC) and Fresenius Medical Care Holdings, Inc. disregarded federal law when billing Medicare.

Allegedly, RCGSC submitted false claims to the Medicare program for reimbursement of home dialysis supplies provided to patients with End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD), a life threatening condition which necessitates dialysis treatment. 

These claims, as well as related claims for support services given by RCG dialysis clinics, were false because the defendants were not qualified to bill Medicare for these home dialysis patients.  Medicare only pays for dialysis supplies to ESRD patients if the supplies are from an independent company.  The complaint alleged that RCGSC was a sham company that was not independent from RCG, and that the defendants required patients to purchase the RCGSC supplies. 

RCG failed to heed both employee complaints and their company lawyers’ advice regarding RCGSC’s Medicare billing activity.  The court held that reckless disregard is sufficient for liability under the federal False Claims Act, and further found that the defendants were unjustly enriched by their retention of the Medicare payments. 

Click here to read the full article, “Nashville Medicare Supply Company Ordered to Pay More Than $19.3 Million in Damages for Violation of the False Claims Act and for Unjust Enrichment”