Settlement Reached Over University's Home Health Care Billing

PHILADELPHIA – The United States has reached a settlement agreement with the Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania, on behalf of its operating divisions, including the University of Pennsylvania Health System (UPHS), for the alleged submission of false home health care billings to the Medicare program.  The settlement includes $75,787 to resolve allegations that Penn Care at Home violated the False Claims Act by submitting claims to Medicare for services not rendered and for services that were not reasonable or necessary.  As part of the settlement agreement, UPHS has also agreed to implement new compliance oversight measures for its home health entities and will annually submit certified compliance reports pertaining to its home health entities to the United States Attorney’s Office through 2019.  The settlement releases UPHS from liability for conduct pertaining to a specific limited number of episodes of patient care.

The settlement resolves a lawsuit pending in federal court in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania that was filed under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act, which allow private citizens to bring civil actions on behalf of the United States and share in any recovery. 

This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General and U.S. Office of Personnel Management Office of the Inspector General. It was handled by Assistant United States Attorneys John T. Crutchlow and Gregory B. David.