Judge Harry Leinenweber of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois dismissed on Aug. 2 the second amended complaint of the suit because the plaintiffs, former employees of Medical Business Office and Trustmark, failed to identify a specific falsity in a cost report or a document submitted to Medicare for payment.
The case came out of two alleged bad debt schemes by medical billing company Medical Business Office and debt collection company Trustmark Recovery Services. The University of Chicago Medical Center contracts with the Medical Business Office, which taps Trustmark for some bad debt collections.
The plaintiffs, Kenya Sibley, Jasmeka Collins and Jessica Lopez, alleged that they discovered the schemes while employed at the companies and that they were fired for raising concerns.
The plaintiffs alleged that all three defendants violated the False Claims Act when Medical Business Office caused the medical center to submit false statements to the government, when the medical center became aware of the inconsistencies and didn’t report the overbilling, and when Trustmark caused its hospital clients to submit false statements to Medicare, according to the lawsuit. The plaintiffs also alleged that their employer retaliated against them when they were fired.
In addition to dismissing one count for failing to show a falsity in a cost report, the judge also said the plaintiffs failed to identify an instance where the medical center recognized an overpayment from the government. He also dismissed the plaintiffs’ retaliation claims.
The judge said amending the plaintiffs’ argument again would be “futile” and thus dismissed the second amended complaint with prejudice.
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