Mississippi Hospital Fraud Claims Dismissed After DOJ Filings

The US Department of Justice secured the dismissal of a whistleblower’s False Claims Act suit, alleging Medicare and Medicaid fraud by a Jackson, Miss., hospital.

Whistleblower W. Blake Vanderlan alleged that Jackson HMA LLC’s failure to comply with the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act caused the hospital to improperly bill Medicare and Medicaid. Vanderlan said Jackson HMA violated EMTALA by improperly transferring uninsured Black trauma patients to other hospitals.

The DOJ properly intervened in Vanderlan’s FCA suit against Jackson HMA, doing business as Central Mississippi Medical Center, and reasonably used its authority under the FCA to dismiss the suit ...