The United States and the State of California have reached a $7,084,000 civil settlement with ReNew Health Group LLC, ReNew Health Consulting Services LLC and two corporate executives for knowingly submitting false Medicare Part A claims for nursing home residents. During the COVID-19 pandemic, in order to conserve hospital beds, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) waived the requirement that a person must have had a hospital stay of at least three days (signaling an acute illness or injury) before reimbursing for skilled care in a nursing home. The United States and the State of California alleged that the defendants knowingly misused this waiver by routinely submitting claims for nursing home residents when they did not have COVID-19 or any other acute illness or injury, but merely had been near other people who had COVID-19. Under the settlement, the defendants will pay $6,841,727 to the United States and $242,273 to the State of California, plus interest.
