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. ##### 95-356