A Texas doctor was awarded $11.4 million in a federal whistleblower lawsuit against a major U.S. hospital service provider.
Dr. Bijan Oughatiyan, a physician, filed the lawsuit against his former employer, IPC Healthcare Inc., in the Northern District of Illinois, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office. IPC Healthcare Inc. is based in North Hollywood, California.
TeamHealth Holdings, the successor in interest to IPC Healthcare Inc., agreed to pay $60 million plus interest to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by billing Medicare, Medicaid, the Defense Health Agency and the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program for higher and more expensive levels of medical service than were actually performed, according to the feds.
Oughatiyan will receive about $11.4 million, according to the feds.
Also as part of the settlement, TeamHealth also entered into a five-year Corporate Integrity Agreement with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General covering the company’s hospital medicine division, according to the feds. The agreement is designed to increase TeamHealth’s accountability and transparency.
“Medical providers who fraudulently seek payments to which they are not entitled will be held accountable,” said U.S. Attorney Zachary T. Fardon for the Northern District of Illinois. “False documentation of treatment is not just flawed patient care; it is illegal.”