Health Wealth Safe, Inc. and Dr. Subodh Agrawal have agreed to pay $1.29 million to settle allegations related to false claims presented to Medicare. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, investigated the case.
U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg stated, “Knowingly billing Medicare for services that do not meet Medicare’s requirements is a fraud against taxpayers.” He emphasized the commitment to enforcing the False Claims Act to recover government payments from such misconduct.
Kelly Blackmon, Special Agent in Charge at HHS-OIG, remarked on healthcare professionals’ duty to ensure compliance with federal program requirements: “HHS-OIG will continue to collaborate with our law enforcement partners to safeguard the integrity of the Medicare program.”
The investigation was initiated following a whistleblower lawsuit filed by former employees of Health Wealth Safe under the False Claims Act’s qui tam provisions. This act holds individuals accountable for submitting false claims to the federal government or its contractors.
The United States alleged that Health Wealth Safe submitted claims for remote physiologic monitoring (RPM) services that were not eligible for reimbursement under Medicare guidelines. These RPM services involve non-face-to-face technology used for monitoring patient physiological metrics like blood pressure and oxygen levels. It was claimed that Health Wealth failed to provide devices meeting Medicare’s automatic reporting standards between September 2019 and January 2021.
The settlement resolves a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, United States ex rel. Chavous v. Health Wealth Safe, Inc., No. 1:22-cv-02553. The whistleblower will receive $238,650 from this settlement plus attorney’s fees.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony DeCinque reached the civil settlement agreement. It’s important to note that these resolved claims are allegations only; there has been no determination of liability.
For more information, contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6185.
