Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen Announces Settlement with Maxim Health Services, Inc.

MADISON — Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen announced today that Wisconsin has reached a civil settlement with Maxim Healthcare Services, Inc, to return $389,246 for the state's Medicaid program.

Medicaid is a state administered healthcare program for the indigent and disabled that is funded jointly by the states and the federal government.

Maxim is a home health agency based in Baltimore, Maryland, with offices in Milwaukee and Madison. It provides in-home nursing and home health aide services to people with disabilities in 41 states.

The settlement agreement resolves allegations that Maxim offices in forty-one states submitted claims for services not rendered, and that the company submitted claims that lacked required documentation. The settlement also resolves allegations that certain Maxim facilities were not properly licensed and were therefore ineligible under the Medicaid rules to submit claims for reimbursement.

“This resolution is another message to anyone who tries to exploit our public health programs that they will be held accountable,” Van Hollen said. “We'll do all we can to protect taxpayer dollars so that we can help those who need it most.”

This investigation began with a whistleblower lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in New Jersey. The relator, who brought the suit on behalf of the government, is a New Jersey resident. The case was subsequently developed by the government into a forty-one state settlement.

In addition to the civil settlement, federal prosecutors have secured guilty pleas to criminal charges from nine Maxim employees, and the company has agreed to enter a deferred prosecution agreement. Maxim also has agreed to the terms of a Corporate Integrity Agreement (CIA) with the Office of the Inspector General of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS-OIG) and will hire a corporate monitor, at company expense, to ensure compliance with the terms of the CIA.