Massachusetts Ambulance Firms to Pay $6M to Settle False Billing Charges

Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell announced a $6 million settlement with two ambulance companies on charges they submitted false claims.

The state said the settlement with Brewster Ambulance Service, Inc. and EasCare, LLC and their owners, Mark Brewster and George Brewster, Jr., resolves allegations that they submitted false claims to MassHealth for more expensive services than were provided, violated MassHealth medical necessity requirements, and failed to disclose relevant information when submitting the companies’ applications to serve as MassHealth providers.

According to Campbell, as part of the settlement, in addition to paying $6 million to the Commonwealth, the firms have agreed to implement a three-year independent compliance monitoring program at their own expense that will include results of annual site and records audits being reported to the attorney general.

Brewster and EasCare provide ambulance and wheelchair transportation services to MassHealth patients across the Greater Boston and South Shore areas. Collectively, they are the largest medical transportation provider in the Commonwealth.

The AGO asserted that the companies violated various state laws, including the Massachusetts False Claims Act. The allegations were first uncovered through a whistleblower lawsuit filed in the District of Massachusetts.

Per its investigation, the attorney general alleged that Brewster and EasCare fraudulently “upcoded” their claims to MassHealth by billing for more expensive levels of services than they actually provided or that were required.

Additionally, the AGO alleged that when submitting their MassHealth provider applications, Brewster and EasCare failed to disclose to MassHealth relevant information concerning owners, managers, and employees of the companies.

MassHealth is the state program that combines Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).

Topics Massachusetts