United States: Alleged Offer Of Free Massage For Medicare-Covered Therapy States Claim Under AKS

In U.S. ex rel. Snider v. Centers for Pain Control, Inc., No. 2:18-cv-210, 2021 WL 1783314 (N.D. Ind. May 5, 2021), Dr. Dion Snider alleged that the defendants induced Medicare and Medicaid patients to purchase trigger point therapy with the incentive of a free massage, thereby violating the AKS, FCA, and Indiana False Claims and Whistleblower Protection Act (IFCA). Snider, a chiropractor, worked for the Center for Pain Control (CPC), took notice of flyers for prospective patients advertising the free massages, and allegedly informed CPC that it should include a disclaimer that the free messages did not apply to Medicaid and Medicare beneficiaries. Snider alleged that the defendants retaliated against him by first refusing to pay him, then terminating him because he objected to their practice and pattern of violating the AKS. The defendants moved to dismiss Snider's FCA and IFCA claims on the grounds they lacked requisite particularity. The defendants also attacked Snider's retaliation claim on the theory that the complaint did not discuss treatment provided to Medicare or Medicaid beneficiaries, did not allege that he discussed any prior or potential claim being submitted for payment to the government, and did not discuss any actual transactions or patient records. The court denied the defendants' motion to dismiss. Snider pleaded that the defendants knowingly and willfully offered free massage therapy by claiming that they created a flyer advertising free massages in exchange for the purchase of trigger point therapy. He also alleged that he put the defendants on notice of the unlawful practice and they refused to pay, then terminated him as a result; he identified six patients not charged for a massage that they received on the same date they purchased trigger point therapy; and he pleaded that 90 percent of CPC's patients were Medicare or Medicaid beneficiaries.

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