Federal prosecutors have unsealed a whisteblower lawsuit that claims Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago violated the False Claims Act by double-billing the government, according to a Chicago Sun-Times report.
Audra Soulias claimed Northwestern Memorial and Evanston-based Northwestern University collected reimbursement from Medicare and the National Institutes of Health for Medicare patients enrolled in NIH-funded clinical trials. Under regulations, Medicare is not specified to cover any costs of clinical trials themselves. A timeframe for the alleged overbilling was not outlined in the report.
The former Northwestern University employee also alleged she was laid off after bringing concerns about the billing practice to her supervisor.
Ms. Soulias filed the suit in November 2010, but federal prosecutors unsealed it in July. Ms. Soulias was also involved in a high-profile lawsuit in 2004 when she filed suit against William Kennedy Smith, MD, of the Kennedy family. She alleged he sexually assaulted her, but her suit was later dismissed by the courts, according to the report. No criminal charges were ever filed.
A spokeswoman for the hospital declined comment, saying hospital attorneys only recently received the suit, according to the report. A spokesperson for Northwestern University said its attorneys do not believe the school should be party to the lawsuit, as it is "not involved in" Medicare billing, according to the report.
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Audra Soulias claimed Northwestern Memorial and Evanston-based Northwestern University collected reimbursement from Medicare and the National Institutes of Health for Medicare patients enrolled in NIH-funded clinical trials. Under regulations, Medicare is not specified to cover any costs of clinical trials themselves. A timeframe for the alleged overbilling was not outlined in the report.
The former Northwestern University employee also alleged she was laid off after bringing concerns about the billing practice to her supervisor.
Ms. Soulias filed the suit in November 2010, but federal prosecutors unsealed it in July. Ms. Soulias was also involved in a high-profile lawsuit in 2004 when she filed suit against William Kennedy Smith, MD, of the Kennedy family. She alleged he sexually assaulted her, but her suit was later dismissed by the courts, according to the report. No criminal charges were ever filed.
A spokeswoman for the hospital declined comment, saying hospital attorneys only recently received the suit, according to the report. A spokesperson for Northwestern University said its attorneys do not believe the school should be party to the lawsuit, as it is "not involved in" Medicare billing, according to the report.
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