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Health-care real-estate investment trust HCP Inc. said Tuesday that the U.S. Department of Justice has filed a complaint against its HCR ManorCare Inc. venture for alleged false claims related to Medicare reimbursement. The Justice Department complaint, which was released from seal on Monday, follows a civil investigation of lawsuits filed by former HCR employees, according to a regulatory filing. In the previously sealed lawsuits, the employees claimed, under a provision of the federal False Claims Act, that HCR submitted claims to Medicare for therapy services that were unskilled, unnecessary, not covered by the skilled-nursing facility benefit and therefore not covered by Medicare reimbursement. (Chen, 4/21)

The Justice Department said Tuesday that it is stepping into a long-running lawsuit against one of the nation's largest nursing-home chains, accusing it of systematic Medicare overbilling and sometimes putting frail, dying patients through arduous rehab schedules just to increase revenue. The lawsuit alleges that ManorCare routinely pressured administrators of its nursing homes, assisted living and rehab facilities to meet financial targets by billing for unnecessary care. (Barakat, 4/21)

Healthcare real estate investment trust HCP Inc said the U.S. Department of Justice had filed a lawsuit against one of its clients over the company's billing practices. The lawsuit against HCR ManorCare Inc, which operates and manages healthcare facilities owned by HCP, alleges that the operator billed Medicare for services that were not "medically reasonable and necessary." (4/21)