Nursing Homes Agree to Pay

An empty room with a medical bed and a wheelchair.

Safire Rehabilitation of Northtowns LLC, Safire Rehabilitation of Southtowns LLC, and Williamsville Suburban LLC have agreed to pay $9 million to resolve allegations of false claims submitted to Medicare and Medicaid. The United States alleged that Safire fraudulently inflated reimbursements by: (a) scheduling skilled rehabilitative therapy and setting skilled rehabilitative therapy goals for residents based on the reimbursement policies of the residents’ insurer, rather than medical need, such that Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries were scheduled for more skilled rehabilitative therapy than was necessary; (b) pressuring treating therapists to provide therapy even when treating therapists recommended against therapy; (c) pressuring residents to attend therapy sessions even after the residents repeatedly refused to participate; and (d) manufacturing and/or altering therapy referrals and medical records to justify unreasonable and unnecessary therapy. Read a Department of Justice press release.

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