RehabAuthority, LLC, a physical therapy company with operations in Minnesota, has agreed to pay $4 million to resolve allegations that it submitted false claims for payment for outpatient physical therapy services in violation of the False Claims Act. The settlement resolves allegations that, from January 1, 2014, to December 31, 2018, RehabAuthority clinics submitted or caused to be submitted false claims for payment to the government for outpatient physical therapy. The clinics, located in Minnesota, North Dakota, Idaho, and Wyoming, improperly billed Medicare Part B, Minnesota Medicaid, TRICARE, and the Veterans Health Administration for one-on-one outpatient physical therapy, including therapeutic exercises, manual therapy, ultrasounds, therapeutic activities, and gait training. The resolution centered on allegations that the company billed the government for direct, one-on-one care with physical therapists, but did not provide it when it overbooked government beneficiaries for certain outpatient physical therapy services.
