Lincare to pay $26M over Medicare billing violations

Lincare, a supplier of durable medical equipment (DME), agreed to pay $25.5 million to settle allegations it billed federal health programs for the rental of ventilator machines after patients no longer needed to use them.

Lincare also settled allegations it paid kickbacks to Medicare patients and others by waiving co-payments for renting the ventilators, according to the settlement, approved Wednesday in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

When DME suppliers seek reimbursement for rental of a ventilator, they must send documentation to Medicare that the patient still needs it and it is considered medically reasonable and necessary. Lincare’s policies stated it would send respiratory therapists to patients’ homes every 60 days to check on them and that the ventilators were still needed.