Rebekah N. Plowman is in the Atlanta office of the Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough National HealthCare and Life Sciences Practice where she chairs the Firm’s Fraud and Abuse Practice.

Ms. Plowman focuses her litigation practice on healthcare matters affecting all types of providers, including government investigations, False Claims Act and Qui Tam actions, clinical research misconduct as well as certification and licensure appeals before federal and state administrative tribunals. Ms. Plowman’s practice also focuses on health care regulatory issues, including fraud and abuse analysis for health care systems, ancillary providers and physician practices, clinical research for hospitals and academic medical centers, issues affecting long-term care providers, Medicare/Medicaid reimbursement and certification, and regulatory compliance.

Ms. Plowman’s clients include hospitals and health systems, hospice and long-term care providers, device manufacturers, private investors and other institutions that invest in or support the health care industry. In 2012, she was selected by her peers for inclusion in Thomson Reuters' list of Georgia "Super Lawyers" in healthcare law. In 2010, The Legal Media Group selected her for inclusion in its Guide to the Leading U.S. Healthcare Lawyers, and she is also listed in the Health Care Law Section of Chambers USA Guide. Ms. Plowman also was selected by the editors of Nightingale’s Healthcare News as one of the “Outstanding Fraud and Compliance Lawyers” of 2008. Ms. Plowman currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Ovarian Cancer National Alliance. Prior to law school, Ms. Plowman was a registered nurse in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit at Indiana University Medical Center.

Representative Matters:

• Represent hospital, hospice and long-term care providers and suppliers in civil fraud investigations involving billing and coding issues, billing and payment practices, medical necessity issues, kickbacks, beneficiary inducements and other related issues
• Assist all types of providers in the development, implementation and effectiveness review of compliance programs
• Advise private equity firms on impact that government investigations, settlements and pleas may have on target health care entities
• Conduct due diligence reviews on all types of providers for private equity firms
• Conduct compliance reviews of clinical research programs for large academic centers as well as community hospitals
• Litigate successful appeals of nursing facility federal termination action and civil money penalty assessments
• Advise investment bankers on regulatory aspects associated with foreclosure of nursing facility and assisted living properties
• Advise on sale of large nursing facility chain to hospital system

Fraud and Investigative Representative Matters: 

• Represented LTACH company, comprised of 23 hospitals, in investigation involving average length of stay calculations used for cost reporting resulting in $10 million settlement and no press release
• Represented hospice company in whistle-blower litigation resulting in a $25 million settlement involving admission criteria
• Represented diagnostic imaging supplier in criminal and civil fraud investigations involving both billing and coding issues, resulting in a declination of criminal investigation and mutually-agreeable civil settlement
• Represented DME supplier in investigation of billing and payment practices
• Represented LTC chain in self-disclosure of third-party billing company’s retrospective billing for medically unnecessary tests and tests not preformed, resulting in minimal single damages overpayment
• Represented urology practice in self-disclosure of billing error involving place of service issues involving allegations of higher reimbursement to practice
• Represented ambulance provider in criminal and civil fraud investigation involving upcoding of non-emergent transports as emergent transports and billing for ineligible beneficiaries, resulting in declination of both criminal prosecution and civil investigation
• Represented pharmacy supplier in civil fraud investigation involving allegations of billing without a valid prescription
• Represented Board of Director in criminal and civil investigation of kickbacks to physician group for professional fees

Admitted to practice in Georgia and Indiana. Ms. Plowman is also admitted to practice before U.S. District Courts for the Middle, Northern and Southern Districts of Georgia.

Her published court decisions include U.S. ex rel. Yeager v. MedQuest Associates, Inc., et al., 2007 WL 3205285 (M.D. Ala., October 31, 2007) where she succeeded in obtaining summary judgment for defendants in a False Claim Act Qui Tam action. She also published U.S. ex rel. Parato v. Unadilla Health Care Center, Inc. et al. 2010 WL146877 (M.D. Ga., January 11, 2010) where she succeeded in obtaining partial dismissal of a False Claim Qui Tam action.

Ms. Plowman earned a Juris Doctor from Indiana University, cum laude, in 1991 and a Bachelor of Science from Indiana University, cum laude, in 1987.