LITTLE ROCK – Attorney General Tim Griffin announced Arkansas’s Medicaid Program will receive $191,050.63 as part of a $25 million national settlement with Lincare Holdings, Inc., over alleged false Medicaid billing for Noninvasive Home Ventilation (NIV) devices and issued the following statement:
“It is alleged that from January 2013 to February 2020, Lincare violated federal and state laws by knowingly submitting false claims for payment to the Medicaid program for NIV rentals. For these false claims, the devices were not medically necessary or Lincare did not maintain sufficient documentation to show continued use or need by patients.
“I am grateful for the diligence of Senior Assistant Attorney General Holly Johnson, who worked with the lead states from the National Association of Medicaid Fraud Control Units (NAMFCU) that investigated this matter in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. Medicaid fraud takes several forms, and my office is committed to fighting it on behalf of hardworking taxpayers.”
Under the settlement agreement, Lincare will pay $25 million, plus interest, to the United States, the District of Columbia and 29 states to resolve the allegations that Lincare improperly sought and received monthly reimbursements for NIV rentals under the federal False Claims Act and comparable state statutes.
