A whistleblower lawsuit has been filed against Aledade Inc., a Maryland firm that oversees the largest independent network of primary care medical practices in the US, accusing them of Medicare fraud. The lawsuit alleges that Aledade's billing software was rigged to make patients appear sicker than they were, resulting in inflated revenues. The suit claims that Aledade added overstated medical diagnoses to patients' electronic medical records, such as conflating anxiety into depression and categorizing patients over 65 who reported more than one drink per day as having substance use issues. Aledade denies the allegations. The case is pending, and Aledade has yet to file a legal response. Aledade is an accountable care organization (ACO) that manages independent primary care clinics and medical offices in over 40 states. ACOs aim to keep people healthier and achieve cost savings. Aledade was co-founded in 2014 by Farzad Mostashari, a former health information technology chief in the Obama administration. The lawsuit also names 19 independent physician practices as defendants, accusing them of knowingly using Aledade software to trigger illegal billings. Whistleblower lawsuits against Medicare health plans have resulted in significant penalties in the past, but this appears to be the first to allege upcoding within ACOs. [Extracted from the article]