Acadia, Vermilion Must Face Ex-Top Executive’s Fraud Claims

Acadia Healthcare Co. and subsidiary Vermilion Hospital LLC couldn’t shake a whistleblower’s claim that the companies unlawfully provided nurse services without a valid collaborative practices agreement with a physician, a Louisiana district court said.

Louisiana law requires advanced practice registered nurses to have such an agreement to provide diagnosis and prescription services, the court said.

Whistleblower and former chief financial officer Jeffrey Byrd adequately alleged that the alleged failure to comply with the nurse requirement violated the False Claims Act because compliance was material to payment decisions under Medicare, Medicaid, and Tricare, Judge John W. deGravelles said in a Wednesday ...