Corporate Whistleblower Center Is Urging Physicians To Call Them About Reward Programs If They Have Proof Of Medicare Upcoding Because Of A Recent Case Involving The DOJ

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America's Watchdog 6

Apr 23, 2014, 03:00 ET


(PRWEB) April 23, 2014 -- The Corporate Whistleblower Center says, "Its called upcoding, and it refers to healthcare professionals, and or healthcare organizations inflating their Medicare bills for government reimbursement. We are convinced upcoding is a multi billion dollar per year problem and we are urging medical doctors, or healthcare professionals to call us at 866-714-6466, if they have rock solid proof a healthcare company is involved in this type of activity. The rewards for this type of well documented information can extremely substantial. The only caveat is the wrongdoing, or fraud must be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars or more."

In December of 2013, the US Government intervened in a lawsuit against IPC The Hospitalist Co. Inc., and its subsidiaries (IPC), alleging that IPC submitted false claims to federal health care programs. IPC, based in North Hollywood, Calif., is one of the largest providers of hospitalist services in the United States, employing physicians and other health care providers who work in more than 1,300 facilities in 28 states.

Hospitalists are physicians who work only in hospitals and other long-term care facilities, overseeing and coordinating inpatient care from admission to discharge.

The lawsuit alleges that IPC physicians sought payment for higher and more expensive levels of medical service than were actually performed. This practice is commonly referred to as “upcoding.” The lawsuit alleges that IPC encouraged its physicians to bill at the highest levels regardless of the level of service provided. Also, physicians were allegedly coached to use higher level codes (for more expensive billing) and encouraged other physicians with lower billing levels to “catch up” to their peers. http://CorporateWhistleblowerCenter.Com

The Corporate Whistleblower Center says, "We are currently working with a whistleblower who is a ER doctor. Regardless of what the patient's condition, the facility he works at gives all patients the highest Medicare billing codes possible. This is what you call upcoding when in comes to Medicare billing, and if a medical doctor has well documented proof this is going on at a hospital, or healthcare facility, we want the doctor to call us anytime at 866-714-6466." http://CorporateWhistleblowerCenter.Com

Simple rules for a whistleblower from the Corporate Whistleblower Center:

  • Do not go to the government first if you are a major whistleblower. The Corporate Whistleblower Center says, “Major whistleblowers frequently go to the federal government thinking they will help. It’s a huge mistake.”
  • Do not go to the news media with your whistleblower information. Public revelation of a whistleblower’s information could destroy any prospect for a reward.
  • Do not try to force a government contractor, or corporation to come clean to the government about their wrongdoing. The Corporate Whistleblower Center says, “Fraud is so rampant among federal contractors that any suggestion of exposure might result in an instant job termination, or harassment of the whistleblower. Come to us first, tell us what type of information you have, and if we think it’s sufficient, we will help find the right law firms to assist in advancing your information.”
  • The Corporate Whistleblower Center wants to emphasize there are high quality whistleblowers in every state including California, New York, Florida, Texas, Massachusetts, Maryland, Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, Missouri, Michigan, Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, and Alaska.

Any type of insider or employee who possesses significant proof of their employer or a government contractor defrauding the federal government is encouraged to contact to Corporate Whistleblower Center anytime at 866-714-6466 or via their web site at http://CorporateWhistleBlowerCenter.Com

For attribution purposes please refer to the December 2013 Department of Justice press release: http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2013/December/13-civ-1294.html

Case number: United States ex rel. Oughatiyan v. IPC The Hospitalist Company Inc., et al., Civ. No. 09 C 5418 (N.D. Ill.)

M Thomas Martin, America's Watchdog 6, http://CorporateWhistleblowerCenter.Com, +1 (866) 714-6466, [email protected]