A Florida jury’s 2017 verdict for a False Claims Act whistleblower alleging that skilled nursing facilities misled and overbilled Medicare was largely correct, the Eleventh Circuit said Thursday, partially reinstating a nearly $350 million verdict.
Angela Ruckh provided sufficient evidence to show that Consulate Health Care and the other defendants wouldn’t have been paid if Medicare knew the truth about their practice of “ramping,” which misleads Medicare as to the necessity of services, and “upcoding” for services which led to overbilling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit said.
The district court must reinstate the jury’s verdict as ...