Nursing Home Operator pays more than $30 million to resolve allegations of manipulating patient therapy schedules to increase profitability.

We represented an occupational therapist and certified occupational therapy assistant who alleged that their employer, a large regional nursing home chain, defrauded the United States by manipulating patient therapy schedules to increase reimbursement for the company, without regard for what was in the best interests of their patients.   At the time, Medicare reimbursed skilled nursing facilities on a per diem basis, using a formula that heavily weighed the total amount of skilled therapy (occupational, physical, and speech language) a patient received in a given period.  The two whistleblowers alleged that the company deliberately manipulated patient therapy schedules to hit financial benchmarks, regardless of whether the amount of therapy being provided was what was in the best interest of the patient.  The company ultimately resolved these allegations with the United States for over $30 million.