Hill-Rom settles false claims allegations
By HME News Staff
Updated 10:17 AM CST, Mon January 29, 2024
COLUMBIA, S.C. – Hill-Rom Holdings, Hill-Rom Company, Hill-Rom Services and Advanced Respiratory have agreed to pay $2.1 million to resolve allegations that the companies violated the False Claims Act by submitting false claims for payment to the Medicare, TRICARE, Department of Veterans Affairs and Medicaid programs.
The settlement, announced by the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the District of South Carolina, resolves allegations that, from Jan. 1, 2011, through Dec. 1, 2019, Hill-Rom’s Direct to Consumer division:
- Sold used Clinitron, TotalCare, and VersaCare beds but billed federal healthcare programs as if they were new beds;
- Sold certain hospital beds and pressure support surfaces to beneficiaries of federal healthcare programs under a miscellaneous code, which sometimes resulted in a higher price paid by the government; and
- Presented claims to the federal government and its contractors that mischaracterized travel time as DME repair time for it to be reimbursable by federal healthcare programs.
Baxter International purchased Hill-Rom after the allegations involved in the settlement, and the division involved in the alleged fraud is no longer operational.
The civil settlement resolves a lawsuit brought under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act by Jeri Harris, a former employee of Hill-Rom.
The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.
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