Venice Company Must Pay $4.9M For ‘Kickback Scheme’: U.S. DOJ

VENICE, FL — LiveCare Health, a Venice-based company that offers remote diabetes monitoring and coaching for patients, has agreed to pay a $4.9 million settlement for a “kickback scheme,” according to a U.S. Department of Justice news release.

The company is accused of violating the Anti-Kickback Statute and False Claims Act by unlawfully paying a marketing service for referrals of Medicare patients with Type 2 diabetes, the DOJ said.
Such violations “undermine the integrity of our health care system,” U.S. Attorney Roger B. Handberg said.

Two whistleblowers — former employees who were fired in July 2022 for raising concerns about fraud among their coworkers — filed a case against LiveCare in August 2022, the Business Observer said.
According to their complaint, the company falsified patient records to show weight loss so that LiveCare could bill for health coaching and Medicare Diabetes Prevention Program services, the report said.

“Kickback schemes waste valuable Medicare funds and undermine the integrity of medical decision-making,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Ricardo M. Carcas of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General“Our agency will continue to thoroughly investigate health care fraud, including the emerging area of allegations related to remote patient monitoring.”