Amanda Antell  |  September 12, 2018

Category: Consumer News

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Reliant Rehabilitation Holdings to Pay $6.1M Settlement in Qui Tam LawsuitReliant Rehabilitation Holdings Inc. has recently agreed to pay $6.1 million to settle a qui tam lawsuit that alleged the healthcare company had an illegal kickback arrangement with certain nursing homes.

According to the qui tam lawsuit, the company paid significant kickbacks to nursing homes in exchange for referring their residents to the company’s rehabilitation therapy services.

Reliant is a nationwide rehabilitation therapy provider based in Plano, Texas. The company agreed to pay the multi million dollar settlement to resolve numerous False Claims Act (FCA) violations alleged in the qui tam lawsuit.

According to the qui tam lawsuit, Reliant paid kickbacks to certain nursing homes and physicians that treat Medicare participants in exchange for them referring and promoting their rehabilitation therapy business.

The False Claims Act is a federal law that allows individuals to report fraud to the federal government and participate in any legal action that may come of it. Approximately 31 different states have their own variations of the FCA, which further empowers their citizens to take action.

The whistleblower provisions of the FCA allowed a concerned physician to report the alleged kickback scheme he witnessed, resulting in this qui tam lawsuit and eventual settlement.

Overview of the Qui Tam Lawsuit

According to the whistleblower lawsuit, Reliant and certain physicians working at skilled nursing homes had allegedly offered other physicians financial compensation, in exchange for supervising and collaborating with the company’s nurse practitioners for the company’s rehabilitation business.

According to the qui tam lawsuit, this alleged kickback scheme started on April 1, 2013 when Reliant began sending out Reliant nurse practitioners to client nursing homes with below fair market fees in order entice nursing homes to refer their residents to Reliant rehabilitation services.

The illegal kickback system allegedly grew from there and lasted until May 1, 2017, and was discovered by Dr. Thomas P. For his role as the whistleblower, Thomas will reportedly receive $915,000 of the settlement fund.

Whistleblowers have an important role to play in discovering schemes to defraud the federal government. Under the FCA, whistleblowers can typically be rewarded with 15 to 30 percent of any settlement or verdict recovered from a qui tam lawsuit.

A whistleblower is an individual who witnesses fraud against the federal government and reports it. Whistleblowers help protect the hard earned of money of taxpayers to ensure it is not improperly used. It is important to note that whistleblowers must be the primary source of information related to the fraud, and cannot use second hand knowledge in a report.

It is important to note that healthcare fraud is one of the most common forms of fraud against the federal government, with medical care companies allegedly filing false claims to federal and state healthcare assistance programs.

“Paying illegal remuneration to nursing homes and doctors to increase the bottom line – as contended by the government in this case – is unacceptable as it too often sacrifices the best interests of patients to profit-making schemes. Patients and taxpayers deserve better,” said Special Agent CJ Porter of the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, commenting on the qui tam lawsuit in a press release.

The qui tam settlement will not only resolve the illegal kickback arrangement allegations in this qui tam lawsuit, but also allegations of submission of false claims to Medicare. These false claims were allegedly impacted by the illegal kickback arrangement, and asked for compensation that was above fair market compensation.

This Qui Tam Lawsuit is Case No. No. 3:16-CV-0707-D, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas.

In general, whistleblower and qui tam lawsuits are filed individually by each plaintiff and are not class actions. Whistleblowers can only join this investigation if they are reporting fraud against the government, meaning that the government must be the victim, and that the alleged fraud should be a substantial loss of money.

Do YOU have a legal claim? Fill out the form on this page now for a free, immediate, and confidential case evaluation. The attorneys who work with Top Class Actions will contact you if you qualify to let you know if an individual qui tam lawsuit or whistleblower class action lawsuit is best for you. Hurry — statutes of limitations may apply.

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Join a Free Whistleblower, Qui Tam Lawsuit Investigation

If you believe that you have witnessed fraud committed against the government, you may have a legal claim. Whistleblowers can only join this investigation if they are reporting fraud against the government, meaning that the government must be the victim, and that the alleged fraud should be a substantial loss of money.

See if you qualify to pursue compensation and join a whistleblower lawsuit investigation by submitting your information for a free case evaluation.

An attorney will contact you if you qualify to discuss the details of your potential case.

PLEASE NOTE: If you want to participate in this investigation, it is imperative that you reply to the law firm if they call or email you. Failing to do so may result in you not getting signed up as a client or getting you dropped as a client.

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Please note: Top Class Actions is not a settlement administrator or law firm. Top Class Actions is a legal news source that reports on class action lawsuits, class action settlements, drug injury lawsuits and product liability lawsuits. Top Class Actions does not process claims and we cannot advise you on the status of any class action settlement claim. You must contact the settlement administrator or your attorney for any updates regarding your claim status, claim form or questions about when payments are expected to be mailed out.