Healthcare Associates Must Pay $16.5 Million for Medicare Fraud

Healthcare Associates of Texas LLC owes the government $16.5 million for improper Medicare billing in violation of the False Claims Act, but a statutory $300 million minimum penalty for the violation is excessive and unconstitutional, a federal district court said.

Sufficient evidence supports a jury’s verdict that HCAT submitted more than 20,000 false claims to Medicare, Judge David C. Godbey of the US District Court for Northern District of Texas said Wednesday, granting whistleblower Cheryl Taylor’s motion for entry of judgment.

About half of the recovery constitutes trebled damages, and half covers civil penalties, said Godbey, who also ruled that ...