MATAGORDA COUNTY — A Bay City physician is facing a federal False Claims Act lawsuit alleging he fraudulently billed Medicare nearly $500,000 for surgical neurostimulator electrode implantations he did not perform.
Dr. Michael Neret owns and manages the Neret MD Medical Clinic and practices in Bay City and Lake Jackson, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas. The federal government filed the lawsuit Sept. 4 in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.
According to the complaint, Neret billed Medicare for surgical neurostimulator electrode implantation procedures, which are complex procedures typically performed in an operating room and reimbursed by Medicare at thousands of dollars each.
Federal prosecutors allege Neret did not perform the procedures for which Medicare was billed. Instead, nonphysician practitioners and nonclinical staff allegedly used inexpensive electro-acupuncture devices during brief, in-office sessions.
Staff inserted small electrode wires into patients’ skin and secured the devices behind their ears with adhesive, according to the complaint.
The lawsuit also alleges Neret encouraged staff to use the electro-acupuncture devices without explaining their potential benefits to patients. Prosecutors allege Neret knew the devices were not billable and used the procedures to justify prescribing narcotics for pain management.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office...
MATAGORDA COUNTY — A Bay City physician is facing a federal False Claims Act lawsuit alleging he fraudulently billed Medicare nearly $500,000 for surgical neurostimulator electrode implantations h...