Nichole Medical Equipment & Supply, Inc. v. Tricenturion, Inc.

694 F.3d 340, 2012 WL 4017485, 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 19218
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Third Circuit
DecidedSeptember 13, 2012
Docket11-2132
StatusPublished
Cited by44 cases

This text of 694 F.3d 340 (Nichole Medical Equipment & Supply, Inc. v. Tricenturion, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Nichole Medical Equipment & Supply, Inc. v. Tricenturion, Inc., 694 F.3d 340, 2012 WL 4017485, 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 19218 (3d Cir. 2012).

Opinion

OPINION

McKEE, Chief Judge.

Nichole Medical Equipment and Supply Company (“Nichole Medical”) appeals the district court’s dismissal of an action that Nichole Medical brought to recover damages for various state and federal claims. The district court dismissed the suit for lack of subject matter jurisdiction and because Nichole Medical had not stated a claim for which relief could be granted. For reasons that follow, we agree. We also agree that all of Nichole Medical’s claims arise under the Medicare Act and that the Defendants/Appellees are therefore immune from suit as officers or employees of the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. Accordingly, we will affirm the district court’s dismissal of the complaint.

I. Statutory and Regulatory Background

This suit originates from relationships that were created under the Medicare Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1395 et seq., (“Act”). The Act is administered through private organizations that contract with the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. 1 30 Fed. Proc. § 71:746. Pursuant to statutory provisions in effect prior to October 1, 2005, Medicare Part B was administered by organizations known as “carriers.” 2 Id. Carriers entered into contracts with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”). The obligations undertaken by carriers under those contracts include paying for items Medicare suppliers provide to Medicare beneficiaries, adjusting any incorrect payments, and recovering overpayments when the carrier concludes an overpayment was made for a covered Medicare benefit. 42 C.F.R. §§ 421.100, 421.200; see also 30 Fed. Proc. §§ 71:747, 71:754.

As a result of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003, the obligations previously imposed on carriers are now undertaken by Medicare Administrative Contractors (“MACs”). See Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003, Pub.L. No. 108-173, § 911(e), 117 Stat.2066, 2256 (2003). 3 MACS enter *343 into contracts with CMS to perform various duties pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1395kk-l. 42 U.S.C. § 1395kk-l; see also 42 C.F.R. § 421.401. Those duties include assisting in the administration of the Medicare Integrity Program. 42 U.S.C. § 1395kk-l; see also, 30 Fed. Proc. § 71:746.

Pursuant to the Medicare Integrity Program, entities known as “Program Safeguard Contractors” (“PSCs”) contract with CMS to perform various program integrity tasks to “safeguard” Medicare payments on behalf of the Secretary. See 42 U.S.C. § 1395ddd(a). PSCs responsibilities include reviewing Medicare payments for potential fraud and ensuring that amounts billed under the Medicare program are appropriate and supported by proper documentation. See 42 U.S.C. § 1395ddd(b).

This auditing obligation thus requires MACs and PSCs to determine if amounts paid under Medicare “are reasonable and necessary in accordance with Medicare coverage policies and program instructions.” 42 C.F.R. § 421.500. In discharging this obligation, CMS or a Medicare contractor can suspend payments under the Act in whole or in part “if CMS or the Medicare contractor possesses reliable information that an overpayment existed or that the payments to be made may not be correct, although additional information may be needed for a determination.” 4 42 C.F.R. § 405.371(a)(1) (emphasis added). A Medicare contractor is also authorized to offset or recoup Medicare payments, in whole or in part, if it is “determined that the provider or supplier to whom payments are to be made has been overpaid.” 42 C.F.R. § 405.371(a)(3) (emphasis added).

At all times relevant to our inquiry, Nichole Medical was a durable medical equipment supplier, 5 National Heritage Insurance Company (“NHIC”) was a carrier and/or a MAC 6 and TriCenturion was a PSC. See 42 U.S.C. § 1395u.

II. Factual Background

This dispute arises from an audit TriCenturion conducted of Nichole Medical’s in the course of TriCenturion discharging its obligations under the Act as a PSC. After examining records obtained from Nichole Medical’s office, TriCenturion concluded that Nichole Medical “might” be improperly billing Medicare for medical equipment such as the motorized wheelchairs and hospital beds that Nichole Medical provided to Medicare beneficiaries. TriCenturion’s examination of Nichole Medical’s records also caused TriCenturion to conclude that Nichole Medical had received overpayments from Medicare. *344 Id. at p. 00007, ¶ 26. 7 TriCenturion also concluded that Nichole Medical had not maintained sufficient medical records to establish the reasonableness and/or medical necessity of some of the medical equipment it had supplied to Medicare beneficiaries. Id. at 00037.

Accordingly, TriCenturion directed Nichole Medical’s prior carrier, HealthNow, to withhold payments to Nichole Medical in an effort to recoup the amount that TriCenturion believed had been overpaid to Nichole Medical. Id. at 00007, ¶27. TriCenturion determined the offset amount by calculating the actual overpayment of several specific claims. It then used those claims as a representative sampling of Nichole Medical’s claims and extrapolated an overpayment amount for all of Nichole Medical’s x-elevant claims from that sample. Id. at 00019.

In addition to the offset, TriCenturion also informed the Attorney General’s Office that Nichole Medical had improperly requested reimbursement for certain medical devices delivered to Medicare beneficiaries to fill their prescriptions.

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694 F.3d 340, 2012 WL 4017485, 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 19218, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/nichole-medical-equipment-supply-inc-v-tricenturion-inc-ca3-2012.