The United States has filed a complaint in partial intervention against Connections Community Support Programs, Inc. in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware. The United States alleges that Connections violated the False Claims Act by knowingly submitting claims for payment to Medicare and Medicaid that falsely represented the identity and professional qualification of individuals providing mental health services. Connections provides mental health treatment services at facilities located throughout Delaware. The United States alleges that from at least January 2015 through October 2019, Connections submitted over 4,000 claims to Medicare in which it falsely certified that an individual holding an eligible qualification provided mental health services to Medicare beneficiaries when, in reality, a different Connections staff member who did not hold an eligible qualification provided the mental health service. With respect to Medicaid, the United States alleges that Connections submitted over 250,000 false claims that resulted in either full or partial overpayments due to Connections falsely certifying to the licensure or education level of the rendering provider. As a result of the false claims Connections submitted to Medicare and Medicaid, the United States alleges that Connections was paid more than $4,500,000 for mental health services for which it was not entitled to reimbursement.
