One of the nation's largest providers of oxygen and other respiratory therapy services to patients in the home has paid $5.25 million to resolve a lawsuit.
The government alleged that, from 2011 to 2017, Lincare, Incorporated attempted to gain a competitive advantage in the marketplace by illegally waiving or reducing co-insurance, co-payments, and deductibles for beneficiaries who participated in a Medicare Advantage Plan operated through a private insurer. This violated the Anti-Kickback Statute, and led to the submission of false claims for payments to Medicare.
The allegations were first brought to light in a 2015 whistleblower lawsuit filed by Brian Thomas, a former billing supervisor at Lincare.
