FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                         CIV
FRIDAY, JUNE 23, 1995                              (202) 616-2765
                                               TDD (202) 514-1888

                                 
               FLORIDA HEALTH CARE PROVIDER TO PAY
               $245,488 TO SETTLE FRAUD ALLEGATIONS

     WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A Miami, Florida, health care provider
will pay the government $245,488 to settle allegations the
company falsely billed Medicare for supplies for nursing home
patients, the Department of Justice announced today.
     Assistant Attorney General Frank W. Hunger of the Civil
Division said the settlement with Florida Club Care Center
Limited includes $62,814 the company has paid already.  Hunger
said this is the second nursing home settlement involving a
contract with a third-party billing agent, Handled With Care,
which submitted bills for the health care provider. The
government recovered a total of $660,399 from both settlements.
     "This recovery shows the government's continuing effort to
combat health care fraud on behalf of the United States
taxpayers," Hunger said.
     The Department said that in 1990 the provider entered into a
contract with the billing company under which Handled With Care
would review Florida Club's records and bill the government for
medical supplies supposedly used in the treatment of nursing home
residents.  Both companies equally shared the proceeds of any
Medicare claims.    
     The government found that the vast majority of charges
submitted by Handled with Care on behalf of Florida Care were not
supported by the patients' medical records and thus were not
reimbursable under Medicare.  One Handled With Care officer has
pleaded guilty in the scheme and another was convicted.
     Hunger commended the work of agents and auditors for the
Department of Health and Human Services' Office of the Inspector
General in assisting in the resolution of both matters.
     Under the False Claims Act, the United States is entitled to
recover three times its damages and up to $10,000 for each false
claim submitted to the government.
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95-356