SNG旗下六家Texas透析中心同意付约200万美元：停业或已转售仍向联邦申报收入为零，多领疫情纾困金
美国司法部马萨诸塞区联邦检察官办公室10月28日宣布，Sankar Nephrology Group（SNG）旗下六家透析中心同意支付约200万美元，了结联邦政府依《虚假申报法》提出的指控。六家中心为 SNG Bellaire Dialysis Center、SNG Hillcroft Dialysis Center、SNG Northwest Dialysis Center、SNG Pasadena Dialysis Center、SNG Sandcastle Dialysis Center 与 SNG Texas City Dialysis，均位于 Texas 州 Houston 一带；其多数股东 Sankar Nephrology Group 将为和解金额提供担保。
据和解协议，六家中心被指向卫生与公众服务部（HHS）提交虚假申报、领取「医疗提供者纾困基金」（Provider Relief Fund，PRF）款项。该基金由国会2020年3月29日通过的《CARES法案》设立，用于补偿医疗机构因疫情减少的收入与增加的支出，由 HHS 下属卫生资源与服务管理局（HRSA）按机构过往 Medicare 账单直接发放，条件是机构须如实申报疫情造成的收入损失与额外支出。
六家中心在和解协议中承认：到它们向 HRSA 申报收入损失与额外支出时，每一家都已停止运营、或已把业务售予另一业主；但它们在申报中称报告期内收入为零，造成其收入是因疫情归零、而非因预先安排的出售或停业归零的假象。这一申报使 HRSA 向其发放了超出其应得额度的 PRF 款项。联邦政府据此主张，六家中心向 HRSA 提交了虚假付款申报与对虚假申报具实质意义的虚假陈述。
本案由联邦检察官 Leah B. Foley 与卫生与公众服务部监察长办公室特别探员主管 Roberto Coviello 宣布，助理联邦检察官 Charles B. Weinograd 承办。
Six Texas Dialysis Centers of SNG Agree to Pay About $2 Million: They Reported Zero Revenue After Closing or Selling, Drawing Excess Pandemic Relief
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts announced on October 28 that six dialysis centers majority-owned by Sankar Nephrology Group (SNG) have agreed to pay approximately $2 million to resolve False Claims Act allegations. The centers — SNG Bellaire Dialysis Center, SNG Hillcroft Dialysis Center, SNG Northwest Dialysis Center, SNG Pasadena Dialysis Center, SNG Sandcastle Dialysis Center, and SNG Texas City Dialysis, all in the Houston, Texas area — were accused of submitting false claims to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to receive Provider Relief Fund (PRF) payments. Sankar Nephrology Group will provide a guaranty backing the settlement amount.
The PRF was created by the CARES Act, enacted March 29, 2020, to reimburse eligible health care providers for lost revenue or increased expenses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), an agency within HHS, distributed funds directly to providers based on their past Medicare billing, on condition that providers report the lost revenue and increased expenses the pandemic caused them.
As detailed in the settlement agreement, the centers admit that, by the time they reported their lost revenue and increased expenses to HRSA, each center had either ceased operating or sold its operations to another owner. In their reports, however, they stated that they had zero revenue during the reporting period — creating the false implication that their revenue had gone to zero because of the pandemic, rather than because of a pre-arranged sale or closure. That reporting led HRSA to award PRF funding beyond their entitlement, and the United States contends the centers submitted false claims for payment and false statements material to a false claim.
U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley and Roberto Coviello, Special Agent in Charge of the HHS Office of Inspector General, announced the settlement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles B. Weinograd of the Affirmative Civil Enforcement Unit handled the case.
来源：GSM·美国（原文链接）
图片来源：图：Houston 的 Texas Medical Center 航拍，本案六家 SNG 透析中心位于 Houston 一带医疗区。照片：Carol M. Highsmith 摄，公共领域（美国国会图书馆藏），经 Wikimedia Commons。 / An aerial view of the Texas Medical Center in Houston, the medical district where the six SNG dialysis centers operated. Photo: Carol M. Highsmith, public domain (Library of Congress), via Wikimedia Commons.
