Nationally recognized whistleblower attorney, Mike Bothwell aided in building yet another case of Medicare and Medicaid fraud. Nashville Pharmacy Services, LLC and majority owner Kevin Hartman will pay up to $7.8 million in response to allegations the company overbilled Medicare and TennCare for pharmacy services. Aided by Bothwell’s initial work on the case, the state of Tennessee reached the settlement and closed its case against the company for alleged false claims submitted from February 2011 to May 2012.
Marsha McCullough acted as the whistleblower to set the case in motion. McCullough worked for Nashville Pharmacy Services as an entry technician from May 2011 to June 2012. During that period she alleges that the company billed Medicare and TennCare for certain medications that were dispensed after the dates of death of at least 15 beneficiaries with Medicare and TennCare coverage.
Bothwell and co-counsel filed her claims under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the Federal State and False Claims Act. The FCA allows citizens with insider knowledge of fraud, waste and abuse to bring legal action on behalf of the government in order to put a stop to the fraud. In cases won, the government has recovered up to three times the amount defrauded, with whistleblowers receiving anywhere from 15 to 30 percent in return.
In this particular case, the United States government will receive roughly 49% of the recovered settlement while the State of Tennessee will take in around 33% of the settled amount. As a whistleblower on the case, McCullough could receive up to $1.4 million of the reached settlement.
This is just one of many cases of Medicare and Medicaid fraud that attorney Mike Bothwell has worked on. Bothwell is a prominent whistleblower attorney whose efforts to stand up for those who speak out in cases of fraud have aided the U.S. government in the ongoing battle to stop Medicare and Medicaid fraud
For more information about the firm, FCA settlements and experience, visit www.whistleblowerlaw.com.