A federal judge has dismissed a case against dozens of IPC Healthcare subsidiaries and affiliates, but the case against the main company—alleging it overbilled the government for medical services—remains.
A U.S. District Court judge in Chicago decided Tuesday to dismiss the case against 29 subsidiaries and affiliated medical groups of IPC, formerly known as IPC The Hospitalist Co., based in North Hollywood, Calif.
The subsidiaries and affiliated groups had been included as defendants in the case, in which the government accuses IPC of actively encouraging its doctors to upcode claims to the government, violating the False Claims Act.
“Even when the complaint makes allegations about specific doctors in specific states, it does not explain what role the subsidiaries in that state played in the alleged fraud,” according to the judge's order. “This is insufficient.”
The judge, however, declined to dismiss the case against IPC.
Attempts to reach IPC for comment were not immediately successful Friday afternoon.
The case was originally brought by a whistle-blower, one of IPC's physicians, in 2009, and it was unsealed in 2013 when the government decided to join the case. In successful cases, whistle-blowers are entitled to a percentage of whatever money the government is able to recover.
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