$5 million paid to settle whistleblower case

GERMANTOWN, Wis. (AP) – A Washington County company and its parent firm will pay nearly $5 million to settle a health care fraud claim by two whistleblowers.

The two former employees of Abri Health Plan of Germantown claimed the company misrepresented its Medicare Part C coverage plans in violation of federal regulations. The pair said the company was withholding key information about products and signing up some customers without their consent.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says James Mlaker of Milwaukee was in sales and J.D. Webb of Waukesha was a manager for Abri. They will share about $900,000 of the settlement money.

Abri and its parent company, Universal American Financial Corp., of Missouri, deny the allegations in the settlement.

Information from: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, http://www.jsonline.com