A three-judge panel at a federal appeals court has unanimously rejected Tuomey Healthcare System's appeal of a 2013 court ruling that found the provider guilty of submitting nearly 22,000 false claims to Medicare, according to The Washington Post.
The rejected appeal ends a long legal battle dating a back to 2012 when the South Carolina system was cleared of wrongdoing by a federal jury. However, the judge determined some evidence had been improperly excluded and ordered a retrial. In the second trial, a jury found an arrangement with physicians in the system amounted to a kickback scheme and awarded the government $237 million in civil penalties. The federal appeals court upheld that judgement, but Tuomey has previously indicated it will be forced out of business as a result of the penalty, FierceHealthFinance reported. Article