Brookline, Mass.-based First Psychiatric Planners, operating as Bournewood Health Systems and Bournewood Hospital, has agreed to pay between $5.5 million and $6.5 million to settle allegations it violated the False Claims Act by way of patient kickbacks.
From around September 16, 2013, to May 31, 2022, Bournewood, a behavioral health organization, admitted to providing free sober housing to substance use recovery patients enrolled in Medicare and Medicaid with the motive of inducing these patients to participate in its hospitalization program, according to an Oct. 1 news release from the Department of Justice.
As part of the settlement agreement, Bournewood acknowledged that it had contracted with sober homes to house patients enrolled in its hospitalization program who were receiving federal or Massachusetts healthcare program benefits. The organization only paid the housing fees for patients who enrolled in and attended the program. If a patient stopped attending, Bournewood allegedly ceased paying sober home costs, regardless of the patient’s financial situation, housing status or availability of alternative housing.
Additionally, the release noted that Bournewood often sent recovery patients to sober homes where the owners and operators engaged in unlawful activities, exploiting vulnerable individuals in recovery.