Michigan Health Care Fraud Case Settled for $800,000 Against St. John
The firm of Frank, Haron, Weiner and Navarro has collaborated with the United States and Michigan governments to settle a false claims suit against St. John Health System for $822,000.
The lawsuit was filed in 2008 by the law firm under the qui tam provisions of the federal False Claims Act, Title 31, United States Code, Section 3730 (b) –(h) on behalf of Maria Hoepner and Frank Pink, D.D.S.
The Act (and similar state Acts, such as the Michigan Medicaid False Claims Act) provides incentives to private citizens, called Relators, who discover fraud against the federal government and who bring their information to the government and help pursue the defrauding entities. The qui tam provisions allow Relators to represent the interest of the government for damages and civil penalties for a violation of law, and if the action is successful, a portion of the recovery is provided to the Relators.
Ms. Hoepner was formerly the Clinic Coordinator for a dental clinic operated jointly by St. John Health System and the University of Detroit at St. John Detroit Riverview Center. Dr. Pink was a supervising and billing dentist at the clinic. The law suit claimed St. Johns Health System submitted or caused to be submitted claims to the Medicaid program, for dental or oral/maxillofacial care on behalf of three health care professionals at St. John Riverview Center.
Specifically, the suit alleged that St. John, for the period between January 1, 2002 and October 28, 2008, submitted claims to the Medicaid program representing that certain services were performed by these professionals, but resident dentists were performing those services without the attending professional present during the key portions of the service or procedure.
Hoepner and Pink will share a Relators award of $135,630. The defendant also agreed to pay $54,910 for expenses and attorney fees. In settling the suit, the defendant neither admitted liability nor did the state or federal governments conclude that the claims were not well founded.
Monica P. Navarro, Louis C. Szura and Maro E. Bush of Frank, Haron, Weiner and Navarro represented the Relators in this litigation in cooperation with Joan E. Hartman, Assistant U.S. Attorney from the Eastern District of Michigan and Elizabeth Valentine, Assistant Attorney General from the Health Fraud Division of the Michigan Attorney General’s office.
