Whistleblower Suit Against Kaiser Fails to Get Revived on Appeal

Kaiser Foundation Health Plan Inc. persuaded the Ninth Circuit on Thursday to toss a False Claims Act suit alleging the company improperly billed Medicare by upcoding diagnoses for medical conditions.

A California federal district court properly found that the suit filed by Marcia Stein and Rodolfo Bone was barred by the FCA’s first-to-file rule, which precludes later filed cases from proceeding if other related cases are pending, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit said in an unpublished opinion.

The decision returned before the panel on remand after the full Ninth Circuit on Sept. 24 said the panel ...