Council Bluffs Area Nursing Home Reaches Settlement Agreement on Allegations of Fraudulent Billing to Medicare for Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapy Services
COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa has entered into a settlement agreement and the Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services has entered into a corporate integrity agreement with Bethany Lutheran Homes, Inc., a skilled nursing facility in Council Bluffs, Iowa, to resolve allegations of billing Medicare for medically unnecessary physical, occupational and speech therapy services announced United States Attorney Nicholas A. Klinefeldt.
Bethany Lutheran Homes has paid the United States the sum of $675,000 to settle the allegations, and entered into a corporate integrity agreement to ensure future compliance with federal health care program requirements. United States Attorney Nicholas Klinefeldt states “This settlement and corporate integrity agreement are the culmination of a two-year investigation and review of Bethany Lutheran Homes’s billing practices to Medicare. My office is committed to ensuring the compliance with Medicare requirements and preventing fraud against the United States. I believe this settlement will reimburse the United States for past practices committed by Bethany Lutheran, and the corporate integrity agreement will ensure their future compliance.”
Gerald T. Roy, Special Agent in Charge for the Kansas City Regional Office, added “The collaborative efforts of the agencies involved help ensure the solvency of the Medicare program and protect the beneficiaries that depend on the health care it provides.”
This case was investigated by the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General.
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