Beverley settles with DOJ over fraud issues
Nursing home operator Beverly Enterprises Inc. has agreed to pay $20million to settle allegations that it defrauded federal and Californiahealthcare programs, the Justice Department announced Friday.
TheFort Smith, Ark.-based company, once the nation’s largest nursing homechain with 60 facilities in California, was accused of submitting falsereimbursement claims to Medicare and Medi-Cal through a now-defunctsubsidiary, MK Medical. Medicare is the federal health plan for seniorsand disabled people. Medi-Cal is a federally funded, state-run healthplan for the poor.
The company was never charged in court, and its attorney said Fridaythat the accusations stemmed from lack of proper paperwork, not fraud.
“Beverlyraised the issue of proper documentation itself with the government,”attorney Russell Hayman said. “It conducted an audit and has now repaidthe moneys identified.”