The Tuscon, AZ-based Carondelet Health Network agreed to pay $35 million to settle charges that it improperly billed the Medicare program between 2004 and 2011 for inpatient rehabilitation services that were not reimbursable, according to a government announcement. It's the largest penalty ever paid by an Arizona provider under the False Claims Act. A whistleblower, Tuscon-based compliance consultant Jacqueline Bloink, will receive a nearly $6 million share of the settlement, and Carondelet will also pay her legal fees. The U.S. Justice Department said that Carondelet offered to make a payment when it was first notified of the overbilling, but that its offer was lower than the actual amount of the overpayments it had received. Announcement