martin flanagan fresenius

Quick View. Chronic kidney disease refers to the progressive loss of a person's kidney function, which is normally irreversible. The CKD complaint therefore contained the essential facts alleged here, thus barring the allegations contained in the amended complaint. 247-48). 304 (Washington state) (All such claims . Why is this public record being published online? After describing that scheme in some detail, the complaint alleges the following as to the submission of actual false claims: The complaint also provides a somewhat more complete description of the false claims for services allegedly provided to Scripps Health, a large health care system with five hospitals in San Diego, California. (Id. (Id. Flanagan 4.9 out of 5 from 219 Patient Satisfaction Ratings. FMCNA also inserted non-competition clauses into their JVAs in order to lock partners into referring patients to its facility. 5266, 5289). (Id. . for money or property presented to an officer, employee, or agent of the United States. The amended complaint in this case, which was the first time relator raised any allegations concerning joint ventures, was filed three years later, in 2021. The second question is whether there is an exception to the first-to-file bar that would allow relator's pre-2010 claims to survive. In United States ex rel. facetime call on chromebook; (Id. See 31 U.S.C. Defendant also contends that the claims concerning joint-venture agreements are barred by the first-to-file rule. 30-31). 2013) (quoting Duxbury I, 579 F.3d at 21). As to some of those medical practices, the complaint provides some amount of additional detail, although again it does not describe any specific false claims. UNITED STATES ex rel. According to the complaint, [f]or this reason, claims submitted to the state Medicaid agencies are presented to the federal government within the meaning of the [False Claims Act]. (Id.). The government had an opportunity to intervene if it chose, and elected not to do so. If you do not agree with these terms, then do not use our website and/or services. 13). Quick View. According to the complaint, over the past two decades, the dialysis industry has become increasingly concentrated in the hands of two companies: DaVita and FMCNA. Whistleblower Lawsuit Against Fresenius Alleges (Id. Martin Flanagan's Phone Number and Email Last Update. DaVita settled that case in October 2014 by entering into a Corporate Integrity Agreement ("CIA") with the Office of Counsel to the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services. (McManus, Caetlin) (Entered: 11/22/2021), (#17) MOTION for Leave to Appear Pro Hac Vice for admission of Noah M. Rich Filing fee: $ 100, receipt number AMADC-9065658 by Martin Flanagan. Compl. 3730(b)(2), (b)(4), (c)(1). Again, those claims will be dismissed on other grounds; however, even if those claims survived those challenges, they are duplicative of the allegations in CKD and therefore would be barred by the first-to-file rule. CKD Project v. FMCNA, No. Second, defendant contends that a complaint alleging medical-director fraud filed in Missouri in 2005 against two different companies-both of which were later acquired by FMCNA-qualified as a public disclosure barring the current allegations. Relator's allegations here describe the same essential scheme and do not materially add to those allegations. . Physicians who wanted to terminate the non-competition agreements were forced to negotiate onerous buyouts. 89). The Clerks Office nevertheless takes the position that the matter may not reassigned by their corrective action alone but requires some action of a judicial officer under the Local Rules. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570 (2007). 28). I understand that the relevant personnel have since received training to avoid such errors in the future. (Id. Second, the requirement for direct knowledge was replaced with the requirement that a relator's knowledge must materially add[ ] to the publicly disclosed allegations or transactions. Id. That statute provides: The policy behind that requirement-allowing the government to investigate the claims and decide whether to intervene-is implicated when a relator amends a complaint to add completely new FCA claims. Web1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars. A medical director's productivity was tracked, and contracts with medical directors who generated a large number of patients were renewed. Martin It then provides a table of patients and patient treatments for the same facilities over the same time period. 223). Cases involving fraud against the government, False Claims Act (FCA) - 31 USC 3729-3733. 29 at 10); (2) compensation is negotiated individually [based on] local factors . We believe that the compensation of our medical directors is in line with the market (Id. 2:22-CV-01807 | 2022-10-21, U.S. District Courts | Personal Injury | 39). Evidence of an actual false claim is the sine qua non of a False Claims Act violation. Karvelas, 360 F.3d at 225. Michael P. Flanagan, MD | Penn State Health 128). 3730(e)(4)(A). Read More . Access the Case Summary and Docket Report to access additional information about this case on the US Court's PACER system. Fresenius . WebMartin Flanagan is a Director, National of Acute Dialysis Services at Liberty Dialysis based in Anchorage, Alaska. FMCNA is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts. It identifies specific hospitals, doctors, and medical practices that have allegedly benefited financially from the scheme. 343). Appearance form, Docketing Statement, and Transcript Report/Order form due 04/19/2023. (Id.). Pilon v. Martin Marietta Corp., 60 F.3d 995, 998-99 (2d Cir. (Danieli, Chris) (Entered: 11/02/2021), Docket(#8) Judge Douglas P. Woodlock: ELECTRONIC ORDER FOR TRANSFER entered. of Cunningham v. Millennium Lab'ys of Cal., Inc., 713 F.3d 662, 669-70 (1st Cir. 2023-03-23, Brevard County Courts | Personal Injury | (g), I respectfully disagree with that interpretation. 14-cv-6646 (E.D.N.Y. . See Kelly, 827 F.3d at 15 (It may not be irrational to infer that, given [the allegations of the fraudulent scheme], some false claims . Feb. 25, 2013), the mere publication of compensation information, without an allegation of fraud or misrepresentation, is not sufficient to trigger the bar. Flanagan v. Fresenius Medical Care Holdings, Inc., No. And, presumably, it has other weapons in its arsenal for dealing with fraudulent conduct. WebChutes & LaddersMD Anderson gets new chief quality and value officer as it shifts to value-based care. 11). (Id.). See East Bay Mun. First, defendant contends that the salaries paid to all of its medical directors is a matter of public record and is available on the website of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Among other things, the complaint uses the passive voice throughout: claims were submitted, rather than FMCNA submitted claims.. Flanagan v. Fresenius Medical Care Holdings, Inc. (#18) Chief Judge F. Dennis Saylor, IV: ELECTRONIC ORDER entered granting #17 Motion for Leave to Appear Pro Hac Vice Added Noah M. Rich. Accordingly, and for the following reasons, the motion to dismiss will be granted. Flanagan v. Fresenius Medical Care Holdings, Inc. Martin L. Flanagan is a businessperson who has been at the helm of 13 different companies. President, National Cardiovascular Partners; President, Spectra Laboratories. (Id. As to the appellee L. Martin Flanagan, we affirm. The U.S. Justice Department said on Tuesday it joined a whistle-blower lawsuit against Fresenius Medical Care AG, the world's biggest dialysis care company, on claims that it defrauded Medicare. 132, 140). 3730(b)(2). Id. 249 (NANI) (All . 4:05-cv-985 (E.D. occurred; (2) said disclosure . (Id.). (g), I respectfully disagree with that interpretation. It then alleges, in general terms, that all claims from those facilities were tainted by kickbacks and therefore constitute false claims within the meaning of the False Claims Act. Complicating matters further is the nature of the alleged false claims. Previo Read More Export Get Full Access to Martin's Info Last Update 12/13/2021 10:41 PM Email @fmcna.com HQ Phone (781) 699-9000 Company Fresenius Medical Care North Relator here has not attempted to do so. (Id. General Description of Medicare and Medicaid Claim Systems. (Id. Rule 9(b) may be satisfied where, although some questions remain unanswered, the complaint as a whole is sufficiently particular to pass muster under the FCA. U.S. ex rel. The central issue is whether relator can sidestep the requirement to plead false claims with particularity by alleging that every single claim is necessarily false. Gagne v. City of Worcester, 565 F.3d 40, 45 (1st Cir. Judge Douglas P. Woodlock assigned to case. Martin Flanagan is a Director, National of Acute Dialysis Services at Fresenius Medical Care North America based in Waltham, Massachusetts. The Anti-Kickback Statute, 42 U.S.C. The Marvel Studios Phenomenon. The Court takes judicial notice of the proffered SEC filings as undisputed documents provided by the parties in connection with a Rule 12(b)(6) motion based on the public-disclosure bar. Previously, Kelly was a Quality Assurance Analyst at S Read More Contact Kelly Flanagan's Phone Number and Email Last Update 3/15/2023 6:18 PM Email k***@fresenius-kabi.com Engage via Email Contact Number (708) ***-**** Engage via Instructions on how to link CM/ECF accounts to upgraded pacer account can be found at # https://www.mad.uscourts.gov/caseinfo/nextgen-current-pacer-accounts.htm#link-account. According to the complaint, FMCNA paid inflated amounts for controlling interests in the joint venture while selling shares below fair market value to physicians who were in a position to make referrals. Flanagan v. FRESENIUS MEDICAL CARE HOLDINGS, INC. (1:21-cv-11627), Massachusetts District Court Flanagan v. FRESENIUS MEDICAL CARE HOLDINGS, 360 (ENA); id. The description of the alleged scheme consisted of 25 paragraphs. FMCNA then moved to dismiss the complaint. . Now, a relator may also qualify as an original source if prior to a public disclosure under subsection (e)(4)(a), [he] voluntarily disclosed to the Government the information on which allegations or transactions in a claim are based. Id. Previously, Martin was a Direct or, Acute Maket Development Counsel may need to link their CM/ECF account to their upgraded individual pacer account. . Internal spreadsheets from the Western Business Unit show that FMCNA recorded losses on its contracts with hospitals, often in excess of the budgeted losses. Here, despite its length, the amended complaint does not describe a single particular false claim. Certainly it would not be irrational to conclude that the presence of kickbacks taints the entire payment process, so that 100% of the claims may be deemed to have been caused by the violation. (Am. In that role, he was responsible for, among other duties, negotiating contracts under which FMCNA provided dialysis treatment to hospital inpatients. That is, [f]actual allegations must be enough to raise a right to relief above the speculative level . Finally, the complaint alleges that medical directors were required to sign agreements containing non-competition provisions in order to preclude any medical director and those in the same practice group from engaging in any remunerative relationship with another dialysis company. 12(b)(6) and for failure to allege fraud with particularity as required by Fed.R.Civ.P. 3729(a)(1)(B) (Count 2); and conspiring to present false claims and making or using false records material to a false or fraudulent claim in violation of the False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. To be clear, the dispositive question is not whether FMCNA engaged in an illegal and pervasive scheme to pay kickbacks for referrals. In any event, as noted, the complaint does not include a single allegation concerning a single specific false claim. Under Rule 9(b), the standard for allegations of fraud is higher than the normal pleading standard. . Fifth, it alleges that FMCNA entered into favorable joint-venture agreements (JVAs) with physician groups to induce them to make referrals. ESRD expenditures by Medicare exceed $40 billion annually. were false.); id. 111-148, 10104(j)(2), 124 Stat. A subscription to PACER is required. 334-35). Compl. 256-69 (IMN and other practices in Indiana); id. The statute defines original source as an individual who, [1] prior to a public disclosure . 40. According to the United States Renal Data System, there were approximately 746,557 ESRD patients in the United States at the end of 2017. . Paperback. . . The complaint further alleges that FMCNA provided free or below-cost services to physicians to secure referrals. Want to Read. Currently, Mr. Flanagan is President, Chief Executive Officer & Director at Invesco Ltd. Mr. Flanagan is also Chairman at Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce and on the board of 19 other companies. 3730(d). Previo usly, Accordingly, [f]ailure to comply with these mandatory threshold requirements warrants dismissal of the qui tam complaint with prejudice. United States ex rel. Patients who were referred to non-FMCNA clinics were categorized as leakage. (Id. In assessing whether a given later-filed suit is based upon' publicly disclosed allegations, [courts] look to whether those allegations are substantially similar' to said allegations. Cunningham, 713 F.3d at 670. Jason S. Greis at 312.624.6412 orjgreis@beneschlaw.com. (Id. (Id. On February 5, 2021 a long-time former Fresenius Medical Care North America (Fresenius) employee, Martin Flanagan, filed a qui tam relator amended were false.); id. United States ex rel. To register for a PACER account, go the Pacer website at # https://pacer.uscourts.gov/register-account.Pro Hac Vice Admission Request Instructions # https://www.mad.uscourts.gov/caseinfo/nextgen-pro-hac-vice.htm.A Notice of Appearance must be entered on the docket by the newly admitted attorney. For example, in United States ex rel. Accordingly, the public-disclosure bar does not preclude the claims concerning unlawful medical-director agreements. That is not sufficient, under the case law, to state a false claim with particularity within the meaning of Rule 9(b). Duxbury v. Ortho Biotech Prods., L.P., 719 F.3d 31, 33 (1st Cir. 1999)). Bonuses and performance evaluations for mid-level managers were tied, in part, to patient growth and the increase in number of treatments at individual clinics. To do so, the complaint must both allege the existence of a scheme to defraud and identify particularized false claims. Here, the original complaint was 22 pages long and contained 54 numbered paragraphs. For the sake of simplicity, the Court will focus first on the Medicare claims. In response, relator filed an amended complaint. medical director agreements that compensated physicians in excess of fair market value and contained sticks and carrots, in the form of onerous non-competition covenants and medical directorship rights of first refusal to provide medical director services at other centers; non-fair market value joint venture arrangements that allegedly did not comply with applicable fraud and abuse safe harbors, both because physician referral sources often held more than a 40% equity interest in such centers and because they were offered equity in such centers at less than fair market value. The False Claims Act permits relators to reap substantial awards for reporting false claims to the government-in this case, the relator could conceivably recover billions of dollars if his allegations are proved. The fact that the CKD complaint was dismissed on jurisdictional grounds is therefore irrelevant. v. Fresenius Medical Care But this is not enough to satisfy Rule 9(b).). (Attachments: #1 Affidavit Certificate of Noah M. Rich in Support of Motion for Appearance Pro Hac Vice)(Sullivan, Christopher) (Entered: 11/22/2021), Docket(#16) Chief Judge F. Dennis Saylor, IV: ELECTRONIC ORDER entered granting #14 Motion for Leave to Appear Pro Hac Vice Added Jamie Bennett. constitutes a false claim.); id. Rule 9(b) requires that a relator plausibly allege that specific payments concerning specific patients were caused by the AKS violation-that is, that they were part of the 25% of the claims that resulted from a violation, not the 75% that were not. 84). 494.150; Am. 2009) to support the contention that when a first-filed complaint is dismissed on jurisdictional grounds, it cannot bar a later-filed complaint. Martin Flanagan worked for Fresenius Medical Care North America (FMCNA) for 29 years. That may, in part, be a result of the fact that relator did not work in any financial or billing capacity, but rather worked as the Director of Acute Market Development for the Fresenius Western Business Unit, and negotiated contracts between FMCNA and hospitals for in-patient dialysis treatment. If the trial Judge issues an Order of Reference of any matter in this case to a Magistrate Judge, the matter will be transmitted to Magistrate Judge Judith G. Dein. The first issue is whether relator complied with the requirements of the False Claims Act to notify the government of his claims prior to filing suit. 3730(e)(4)(B) (2006). (Id. Furthermore, they do not directly disclose the existence of any of the alleged schemes, or any other form of fraud, nor do they describe facts from which the existence of a fraudulent scheme might be inferred. Martin Flanagan may be available from PACER. Again, the complaint does not identify a single specific false claim-by Form UB-40, by patient name, by date, by location, by dollar amount, by billing code, by type of service, or otherwise. (McManus, Caetlin) (Entered: 11/02/2021), Docket(#10) Chief Judge F. Dennis Saylor, IV: ELECTRONIC ORDER entered granting #5 Motion for Leave to Appear Pro Hac Vice Added Megan S. Heinz. Essentially, that version of the complaint alleged that FMCNA's efforts to incentivize referrals to its clinics violated the Anti-Kickback Statute, 42 U.S.C. MEMORANDUM AND ORDER: This case was erroneously assigned to my docket as a result of a failure by docketing personnel in the Clerks Office to recognize that it is not related to the MDL proceeding assigned to me. Attorneys admitted Pro Hac Vice must have an individual upgraded PACER account, not a shared firm account, to electronically file in the District of Massachusetts. Chief Judge F. Dennis Saylor, IV assigned to case. (Woodlock, Douglas) (Entered: 11/02/2021), Docket(#7) NOTICE of Appearance by Abraham R. George on behalf of United States of America (George, Abraham) (Entered: 10/18/2021), Docket(#6) MOTION for Leave to Appear Pro Hac Vice for admission of James F. Bennett Filing fee: $ 100, receipt number AMADC-9005666 by Fresenius Medical Care Holdings, Inc.. (Attachments: #1 Affidavit Certification of James F. Bennett)(Durant, Maria) (Entered: 10/13/2021), Docket(#5) MOTION for Leave to Appear Pro Hac Vice for admission of Megan S. Heinsz Filing fee: $ 100, receipt number AMADC-9005610 by Fresenius Medical Care Holdings, Inc.. (Attachments: #1 Affidavit Certification of Megan S. Heinsz)(Durant, Maria) (Entered: 10/13/2021), Docket(#4) NOTICE of Appearance by Maria R. Durant on behalf of Fresenius Medical Care Holdings, Inc. (Durant, Maria) (Entered: 10/07/2021), Docket(#3) NOTICE of Appearance by William H. Kettlewell on behalf of Fresenius Medical Care Holdings, Inc. (Kettlewell, William) (Entered: 10/07/2021), Docket(#2) Case transferred in from District of Maryland; Case Number 14-cv-00665-GLR. This docket was last retrieved on December 5, 2022. 2008) (quoting Centro Medico del Turabo, Inc. v. Feliciano de Melecio, 406 F.3d 1, 6 (1st Cir. 45-49). 40). Free or Below-Cost Management Services. Those arguments, however, are unavailing. The Clerks Office nevertheless takes the position that the matter may not reassigned by their corrective action alone but requires some action of a judicial officer under the Local Rules. Accordingly, the claims concerning joint-venture agreements are barred by the first-to-file rule. Employed by Penn State Health. FMCNA tracked the referrals recorded as part of the Bridge Program. As to the alleged scheme to provide other services to hospitals, the complaint alleges the following: As to the scheme to provide free or below-cost practice-management services, the complaint alleges the following: As noted, despite its length and detail, the description of the fraudulent scheme set out in the complaint, without more, is insufficient to state a claim under the False Claims Act. 97-106). D. Pleading Fraud with Particularity under Rule 9(b). United States v. Fresenius Med. Care Holdings - casetext.com I understand that the relevant personnel have since received training to avoid such errors in the future. or recommend purchasing . 181). Defendant correctly contends that the initial complaint did not contain any allegations concerning unlawful joint-venture agreements, or the provision of free services to hospitals, physicians, and patients. 9(b). Rather than spend time at this point disputing and, if necessary clarifying rule language, however, I have simply consulted with the Chief Judge and under L.R. (Am. WebMichael P. Flanagan, MD. 131). Whistleblower Lawsuit Against Fresenius Alleges Unlawful 2009). Allegations concerning pre-merger conduct cannot be said to have disclosed post-merger conduct. United States ex rel. Care Holdings, Civil Action 21-11627-FDS (D. Mass. According to the complaint, FMCNA budgeted for the anticipated losses in the acute programs at many of the larger hospitals. Scott Downing at 312.624.6326 or sdowning@beneschlaw.com, Mark Silberman at 312.212.4952 or msilberman@beneschlaw.com, Juan Morado Jr. at 312.212.4967 or jmorado@beneschlaw.com, Whistleblower Lawsuit Against Fresenius Alleges Unlawful Arrangements with Hospitals and Nephrologists Intended to Induce Dialysis Referrals.

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