“Free” glucometers, waived co-pays and claims made for dead patients. An Antioch call center whistleblower alerted the U.S. government to a bundle of Medicare false claim schemes in a suit that led this week to the largest settlement in Middle Tennessee history.
It did not feel right. It was too hard of a sell, too much beat into our heads about the limited things we could or couldn’t do. It just didn’t feel right. So I did a little bit of reading.
Greg Goodman, 59, knew something was off when he took a call center job at a medical supply company nearly a decade ago. Now retired, Goodman had worked as an account executive for investment firms but after the 2008 recession wanted to get his foot in the door of the health care industry.
Even though he had little experience in the field, he felt the way the company was pushing customer service representatives to sell glucose meters and waive co-pays wasn’t normal.
“It did not feel right,” Goodman told The Tennessean on Monday. “It was too hard of a sell, too much beat into our heads about the limited things we could or couldn’t do. It just didn’t feel right. So I did a little bit of reading.”
Eight years later, Arriva Medical has agreed to pay $160 million back to taxpayers through its parent company Alere Inc. to settle the allegations of fraud made against them on the basis of Goodman’s evidence.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office celebrated the settlement Monday as a win for taxpayers.
