Rural/Metro Corporation has agreed to pay the United States $2,802,112 to resolve civil allegations that various Rural/Metro ambulance companies violated the federal False Claims Act by submitting false bills to Medicare.
The settlement agreement resolves allegations that from Jan. 1, 2007, through Dec. 31, 2011, various ambulance companies, owned and operated by Rural/Metro – including SW General Inc., dba Southwest Ambulance; Southwest Ambulance of Casa Grande Inc., dba SWARA; and Southwest Ambulance of Tucson Inc., dba Kords Ambulance — billed Medicare for transporting patients from one hospital to another on an emergency basis when, in fact, the calls were not emergencies.
The United States alleged that as a result of these false and “upcoded” claims, Medicare paid substantially more for the ambulance services than was warranted. According to the DOJ, the settlement is neither an admission of liability by Rural/Metro, nor is it a concession by the United States that its claims are not well founded.
Rural/Metro Corporation is a Delaware corporation, which through its subsidiaries and affiliates, provides private ambulance and fire protection services in Arizona and approximately 20 other states.