Key Points:
- Aledade, a Maryland-based firm overseeing a large network of independent primary care practices, faces allegations of cheating Medicare out of millions of dollars. The whistleblower lawsuit claims Aledade used billing software that exaggerated patients’ illnesses.
- The lawsuit alleges Aledade inflated medical diagnoses in electronic medical records to boost revenue. For example, coding anxiety as depression could increase payments by $3,300 per patient annually, and labeling patients over 65 with more than one drink per day as having substance use issues could bring in an extra $3,680 per patient.
- The suit was filed by Khushwinder Singh, a former senior medical director at Aledade, who claims he was fired after objecting to these practices.
- Aledade has yet to file a legal response, but its senior vice president, Julie Bataille, has denied the allegations, calling the case baseless and meritless. The case is currently pending.