Health Care Article: Tennessee Settlement Shows Failure to Refund Overpayments Can Be a Crime
2/28/2007
How could the failure to refund overpayments be considered a crime? Just ask the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern district of Tennessee, who took this position against the practices of the East Tennessee Heart Consultants (ETHC) as seen in the Jan. 2 settlement with the group (11 HFRA 73, 1/17/07).
This article, written by Mintz Levin attorneys Thomas S. Crane and Lauren N. Haley, provides the background and allegations of this case and examines the reasons why it's so significant to health care providers and their counsel.
Tom co-coordinates the firm's Health Care Fraud and Abuse and Corporate Compliance practice group. He is nationally recognized as an authority on fraud and abuse.
Lauren is an associate in the Health section, practicing in the Washington, DC office. Her practice focuses on transactional, regulatory and abuse matters, Medicare reimbursement, Medicare compliance, overpayment appeals, False Claims Act and federal and state anti-kickback laws.
Reproduced with permission from BNA's Health Care Fraud Report, Vol. 11, No. 5 (Feb. 28, 2007). Copyright 2007 by The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. (800-372-1033) http://www.bna.com
