Florida Nursing Home Provider to Pay $1.75 Million over Allegations of Improper COVID-19 Vaccinations
- July 08, 2022
MorseLife Health System Inc. (MorseLife) agreed to pay the United States $1.75 million to resolve allegations it violated the False Claims Act by facilitating COVID-19 vaccinations through a government program designed to vaccinate long term care facility residents and staff for hundreds of ineligible individuals, including board members, their friends and families, and potential donors, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced June 30.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention launched the Pharmacy Partnership for Long-Term Care Program in October 2020 to prioritize COVID-19 vaccinations for staff and residents of long term care facilities, who were at the highest risk of infection from the virus when doses of the vaccine were scarce.
MorseLife, a not-for-profit corporation in West Palm Beach, FL, enrolled in the program and scheduled a vaccination clinic for residents and staff of its skilled nursing facility. The settlement resolves allegations that MorseLife knew the program only covered long term care facility residents and staff, but nevertheless invited ineligible individuals, many of who it targeted for donations, to be vaccinated at the clinic by characterizing them as “staff” and “volunteers,” a press release said.
Prosecutors alleged that of 976 persons vaccinated at the clinic on December 31, 2020, more than half, were ineligible to participate in the program, the release said. The ineligible individuals included members of MorseLife’s various boards of directors, their family members and friends, potential donors, and other individuals.
The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.