Centers Health Care, the owner of 44 nursing homes located across New York and New Jersey, will pay more than $6 million for making false statements on Medicare cost reports.
U.S. Attorney John Sarcone III said Tuesday that skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) owned by Centers Health submitted false reports to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), while some reports also omitted information.
“Taxpayer dollars fund nursing homes,” said Sarcone. “I expect that nursing homes will truthfully account for how they spend those dollars, which are entrusted to them to care for our elderly and most vulnerable citizens.” Facilities receiving federal dollars are required to submit cost reports to CMS.
The 44 affected facilities are related to Centers through common ownership or control, and are located in Rhode Island, Kansas, Missouri and New York. They include 15 facilities in the Northern District of New York.
“When nursing home operators knowingly submit false information in cost reports, they undermine the integrity of federal health care programs and misuse taxpayer dollars,” said Special Agent in Charge Linda Hanley of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General.
Center Health’s latest charges follow a settlement of civil charges late last year.
In November 2024, Centers Health was ordered to pay $45 million to settle charges of Medicaid fraud, patient neglect, and mistreatment. New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a lawsuit in 2023 against owners Kenneth Rozenberg and Daryl Hagler, accusing them of diverting over $83 million in Medicare and Medicaid funds for personal gain instead of properly staffing their facilities.
A court swiftly issued a preliminary injunction to address ongoing issues, mandating the appointment of independent financial and health care monitors. These monitors have since increased staffing levels at Centers Health facilities.
Skilled Nursing News reached out to Centers Health, but a comment wasn’t available at the time of publication.
