Area firm to pay $31.7M in Medicare scheme case

TAMPA — Tampa-based managed care services provider Freedom Health Inc. and related corporate entities agreed to pay $31,695,593 to resolve allegations the companies violated the False Claims Act, according to a press release from the Department of Justice.

The statement says the company engaged in illegal schemes to maximize payment from the government in connection with Medicare Advantage plans. Former Freedom Health COO Siddhartha Pagidipati has agreed to pay $750,000 to resolve his alleged role in one of the schemes, the release states. According to court documents, Freedom Health's owner is America's 1st Choice Holdings of Florida LLC, a holding company controlled by prominent area businessman and philanthropist Dr. Kiran Patel.

The government alleged Freedom Health submitted or caused others to submit unsupported diagnosis codes to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and according to a press release, it resulted in inflated reimbursements from 2008 to 2013 in connection with two of the company's Medicare Advantage plans in Florida.