NASHVILLE, Tenn (Legal Newsline) — The Department of Justice has announced a False Claims Act case against Vanguard Healthcare LLC and others.
According to the lawsuit, the defendants submitted false claims to Medicare and Medicaid for substandard or even non-existent skilled nursing home services. Additionally, the lawsuit alleges the defendants forged signatures on certain nursing forms.
“Our seniors rely on the Medicare and Medicaid programs to help care for them with dignity and respect,” said principal deputy assistant attorney general Benjamin C. Mizer, head of the Department of Justice's Civil Division.
“It is critically important that we confront nursing home operators who put their own economic gain over the needs of their residents. Operators who bill Medicare and Medicaid while failing to provide essential services will be held accountable.”
The other defendants are Boulevard Terrace LLC, Vanguard of Crestview LLC, Glen Oaks LLC, Imperial Gardens Healthcare and Rehabilitation LLC, Vanguard of Memphis LLC, Vanguard of Manchester LLC and Vanguard’s director of operations, Mark Miller.
This case highlights the department’s crackdown on alleged health care fraud. The matter is being handled by the commercial litigation branch of the Justice Department’s Civil Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Middle District of Tennessee, the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General, the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.