Lorin Eleni Gill

Hawaii Attorney General Doug Chin said the state has filed a second lawsuit against… more

Liberty Dialysis is being ordered to pay $7 million in overpayments to the state of Hawaii, which has filed a second false claims lawsuit against the dialysis provider, the state attorney general’s office said Wednesday.

The $7 million reimbursement was awarded to the state to cover overpayments to the company between 2006 and 2010 for Liberty's Medicaid patients.

A computer error in the state Department of Human Services claims processing system led to the original overpayments.

The new lawsuit, filed Tuesday, alleges that Liberty knowingly exaggerated claims for a drug, despite an alert from a billing consultant.

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“We expect to prove in this new lawsuit that Liberty gamed the system to keep being overpaid,” Attorney General Doug Chin said in a statement. “We will not and cannot tolerate this kind of behavior.”

The lawsuit alleges reimbursement requests were inflated for a drug called Epogen, which is used during dialysis treatment.

The complaint asserts intentional and negligent misrepresentation, unjust enrichment, and that a breach of contract took place.

The state will seek triple damages for the overpayment plus civil penalties of $5,500 to $11,000 for each false claim submitted, as well as attorney fees and costs.

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