A former coding employee accused St. Joseph, Mo.-based Heartland Regional Medical Center of wrongfully firing her for expressing concerns about fraudulent billing practices, the St. Louis Record reports.
Heartland Regional Medical Center is doing business as Mosaic Life Care.
Here are six insights.
1. In a lawsuit filed May 25, Debra Conard accuses Mosaic Life Care of wrongful discharge and unlawful retaliation after she allegedly tried stopping False Claims Act violations.
2. The former employee also accused the organization of age discrimination. Ms. Conard, 57, had served as a medical coder for Heartland Regional for about 40 years.
3. Ms. Conard was reportedly instructed in April 2017 to push through charges that weren't supported by documentation, which would incur payment by Medicare and other payers.
4. Ms. Conard allegedly informed her supervisor releasing the claims for a procedure that wasn't "technically eligible for Medicare reimbursement" could cost the company millions of dollars in fines.
She processed the billing and noted her supervisors authorized the charges she believed to be fraudulent.
5. The company moved Ms. Conard to a coding position in another department in May 2017 and filled her prior position with someone 15 years younger. She was fired after facing disciplinary action and complaining to human resources.
6. Ms. Conard is seeking compensatory damages worth over $75,000, as well as FCA-authorized damages, lost wages and benefits, attorneys' fees and reinstatement.