Monrovia-based nursing home operator ReNew Health Group LLC, along with arm ReNew Health Consulting Services LLC, late last month entered into a more than $7 million settlement with the state and the U.S. Department of Justice over allegations of Medicare- and Medicaid-related fraud.
Federal and state prosecutors had alleged that ReNew, which owns numerous nursing homes in California, misused a Medicare and Medicaid waiver enacted during the Covid-19 pandemic. The program waived a three-day hospitalization requirement for nursing facilities to bill the health care agencies for reimbursement for skilled care such as recovery from a heart attack or a severe injury.
The government, which based its allegations on the reports of a whistleblower, claimed that ReNew was filing for reimbursements for patients on the basis that they’d simply been exposed to Covid-19. The whistleblower filed the report under the False Claims Act.
“False claims are anathema to the Medicare system, especially during a public health crisis,” said U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada for the Central District of California in a statement. “This settlement agreement highlights my office’s determination to ensure our nation’s health care programs help those who actually need them.”
In addition to ReNew, the settlement also named owner and Chief Executive Crystal Solorzano and Chief Operating Officer Chaim Kolodny. Broken down, more than $6.8 million will be paid to the federal government, while California will be paid $242,273. The whistleblower receives a portion of that settlement.
In a statement, ReNew spokesperson Dan Kramer noted that the claims were resolved with no finding of wrongdoing. He added that it would not affect patients, caregivers or services and emphasized the claims were related to administrative issues, not treatment ones.
“The settlement, like those many other health systems and hospitals have reached with the government, is completely unrelated to patient care or the quality and appropriateness of the care or services provided to patients,” Kramer said, “instead involving an administrative issue during the Covid era when overlapping and often conflicting rules and regulations sometimes changed weekly or daily.”
Local facilities owned or managed by ReNew include Griffith Park Healthcare Center in Glendale; Parkwest Healthcare Center in Reseda; Santa Fe Heights Healthcare Center in Compton; Simi Valley Care Center in Simi Valley; Hyde Park Healthcare Center in Hyde Park; Valley Vista Nursing and Transitional Care in North Hollywood; Pomona Valley Rehabilitation Center in Pomona; Canyon Vista Post Acute in Canoga Park; Route 66 Post Acute in Glendora; Pacific Park Healthcare Center in Glendale; Miracle Mile Post Acute in Mid-Wilshire; and San Gabriel Post Acute in San Gabriel.
