BIRMINGHAM, Ala., June 28, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Encompass Health Corporation (EHC) (“Encompass Health” or the “Company”) today settled a seven-year False Claims Act (“FCA”) investigation by the Department of Justice (“DOJ”), together with related qui tam or “whistleblower” lawsuits, for a settlement payment of $48 million. In the settlement, the Company expressly denies any wrongdoing. The Company will not be subject to a Corporate Integrity Agreement (“CIA”).
In return for the settlement payment, the Company has received dismissal with prejudice of the pending qui tam claims and DOJ’s release of the Company and all its subsidiaries from liability as specified in the settlement agreement for the time period from January 1, 2006 through the date of the agreement.
The Company has disclosed this matter in its public filings since 2013 and accrued a loss contingency in the amount of the final settlement in its financial statements as of December 31, 2018. The Company fully cooperated with the government’s investigation, producing voluminous documentation and submitting to over thirty depositions.
The seven-year investigation produced no evidence of falsity or fraudulent conduct. Eventually, the court refused to give DOJ more time to decide whether to intervene and unsealed the related qui tam cases. DOJ did not intervene. Accordingly, the Company faced the burden and cost of litigating multiple cases with the individual plaintiffs.
Source: Encompass Health Settles DOJ Investigation and Related Qui Tam Lawsuits / Yahoo! Finance