HCA Healthcare Again Defeats Physical Therapy Fraud Claims

A False Claims Act whistleblower failed to adequately allege that HCA Healthcare Inc. improperly billed federal healthcare programs for physical therapy services, a Kansas district court said.

Edward Ernst Jr. didn’t plausibly allege HCA knowingly submitted false claims for payment to Medicare and Tricare, Judge Toby Crouse of the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas said in a Nov. 19 opinion.

His complaint’s generalized allegations don’t specifically describe what HCA knew concerning fraudulent billing or how they knew it, the court said.

Claims against other defendants, including College Park Family Care and College Park Physical Therapy, which were ...