A federal judge in California dismissed the U.S. government's lawsuit alleging that UnitedHealth Group Inc. violated the False Claims Act by receiving inflated payments based on untruthful and inaccurate information about the health status of beneficiaries enrolled in the company's largest Medicare Advantage Plan, UHC of California.
But U.S. District Judge John Walter of the Central District of California gave the government until Friday to amend its complaint and strengthen the allegations.
Walter describes the complaint as a "classic shotgun pleading" that failed to identify any corporate officers who attested to the truthfulness of the information submitted to Medicare or to allege that any of those employees knew or should have known that the information was false.
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The judge also found that the federal government failed to prove that Medicare Advantage payments would not have been made had the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services been aware of the conduct alleged in the suit.
