Geisinger Community Health Services, Medicare Fraud, Pennsylvania 2017

HARRISBURG, PA — Geisinger Community Health Services (GCHS) has agreed to pay $18,513,621.05 to resolve allegations of civil liability for submitting claims to Medicare for hospice and home health services that violated Medicare rules and regulations.

Between January 2012 and December 2017, through several affiliated entities, GCHS submitted claims to Medicare for hospice and home health services that violated Medicare rules and regulations regarding physician certifications of terminal illness, patient elections of hospice care, and physician face-to-face encounters with home health patients.

According to the voluntary disclosures, GCHS took corrective action and disclosed the matter to the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.

“The $18 million payment in this matter reflects the priority healthcare providers should place on making sure they closely follow all Medicare rules and regulations,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Brandler. “Healthcare fraud remains a focus of the Office of the United States Attorney’s Office. I commend GCHS for taking this seriously, voluntarily disclosing these issues to our office and working to address the problems that led to these violations.”

This matter was handled by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office of Counsel to the Inspector General (OCIG), the Justice Department’s Civil Division Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, and AUSA Tamara Haken of the Affirmative Civil Enforcement Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.

Geisinger Community Health Services, a healthcare provider, will pay $18,513,621.05 to resolve allegations of civil liability for submitting claims to Medicare for hospice and home health services that violated Medicare rules and regulations.

The exact criminal charges against Geisinger Community Health Services are civil liability for submitting claims to Medicare for hospice and home health services that violated Medicare rules and regulations.

HARRISBURG, PA — December 4, 2017.

The outcome in this case is a settlement of $18,513,621.05, which reflects the priority healthcare providers should place on making sure they closely follow all Medicare rules and regulations.

The dollar amounts involved in this case are $18,513,621.05 in settlement payments.

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