A settlement may be close in the federal government's massive False Claims Act case against Cleveland, Tn.-based Life Care Centers of America.
Attorneys have asked Chattanooga Federal Judge Sandy Mattice to put a 30-day hold on depositions, saying a settlement is in the works. Judge Mattice granted the motion.
The government says claims in the case amount to $1.8 billion.
That equates to over $4 million for each of the 437 patients whose treatment is being closely examined by the government in the case that was filed in 2008. The investigation was launched in 2006 - charging that Life Care employees were encouraged to utilize excessively high levels of therapy to maximize Medicare payments.
The government has separately sued Life Care Centers of America founder and still-chairman Forrest Preston, saying he was "unjustly enriched" by millions of dollars in allegedly unfounded claims for government reimbursement.