Dive Brief:
- This week, the former CEO of Roseburg, OR-based Architrave Health filed a federal lawsuit alleging he was let go after reporting $10 million in false Medicare payments, according to The Oregonian.
- Robert Dannenhoffer claimed Umpqua Medical Group, a subsidiary of Architrave, had created a payment structure that rewarded doctors for prescribing certain drugs and procedures for Medicare patients.
- Dannenhoffer maintains the payment structure violated the False Claims Act and the Stark Act.
Dive Insight:
Dannenhoffer was fired in February 2015, just days after notifying CMS of the fraudulent claims. In the lawsuit, he said Architrave officials also took steps to see that he didn’t get hired elsewhere.
It is not known whether CMS is investigating the case.
Umpqua is a major Medicare provider in Oregon, and the suggestion that doctors were lining their pockets with taxpayer dollars won’t sit well there.
The ex-CEO is seeking reinstatement, back pay, and damages. Dannenhoffer was one of the founders of Architrave, a joint venture of the Douglas County Individual Practice Association and Mercy Medical Center.