Halifax Health to Pay $1M Settlement in False Claims Case

One of the most widely viewed False Claims Act (FCA) cases filed against a hospital is coming to an end–Florida hospital, Halifax Health, is preparing to pay $1 million to settle a $73 million dollar Medicare overbilling case. Potentially, maximum damages in the trial could have exceeded $200 million, which would then be followed by an $85 million dollar settlement that the health system paid in March to settle the first half of the case. Although the False Claims Act makes it illegal for hospitals to submit inaccurate bills to Medicare, Judge Presell, who presided over this case, ruled that it doesn’t necessarily trigger the FCA to bill Medicare for cases in which the medical record lacks enough information to justify admission for inpatient stays.

For more information on the Halifax case or the False Claims Act, please contact Adrienne Dresevic at 248-996-8510 or via email at adresevic@thehlp.com.