by bvernia | June 6th, 2015
On May 27, the Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services announced (no permalink available) that a Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, businesswoman had agreed to be excluded following the settlement of civil charges against her companies. According to the OIG-HHS’s press release:
Tracy Nemerofsky – a Palm Beach Gardens, Florida private business owner – agreed to be excluded from participation in all Federal health care programs for a period of five years. OIG conducted an investigation of Nemerofsky for knowingly submitting or causing to be submitted to Medicare false claims in violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute. Based upon that investigation, OIG alleged that Nemerofsky violated the Anti-Kickback Statute through her company A Plus Home Healthcare, Inc. (A Plus), when she directed and managed A Plus’ payments to eight different physicians’ spouses, in exchange for the physicians’ Medicare referrals. OIG alleged that the eight spouses were not bona fide employees of A Plus and that these arrangements did not fit within the exception to the Anti-Kickback Statute payment prohibition. OIG alleged that Nemerofsky offered and paid the remuneration described above and this conduct forms a basis for her exclusion.
Nemerofsky agreed to enter a voluntary exclusion with OIG for a period of five years after she resolved the above mentioned conduct through a False Claims Act monetary settlement with the United States, a settlement in which OIG expressly reserved its exclusion authority. In order to resolve her companies’ exclusion liability as well, Nemerofsky also agreed to divest herself of five health care businesses: A Plus; A Plus Private Care Services; Ocean Therapy Group, Inc.; Professional Touch Rehab, Inc.; and RockHill Rehab Services Inc. Senior Counsels Kristen Schwendinger and Tamara Forys represented OIG.
