The patients were slapped with lab bills that shocked them. Toxicology or genetics tests for $5,000, $10,000, $12,000, $18,000 or more. Why, one man demanded to know, was a DNA test done for an earache? A mother objected to charges for a toxicology test on her son. Another patient wanted answers about how an office visit of less than 30 minutes resulted in a lab bill for $5,500.
The Georgians were victims of a secret arrangement between the owner of a chain of Georgia medical clinics and a Texas lab company, court documents allege. Their deal: The two would split the money generated by patient tests. The more tests, the more money.
So the owner ordered doctors who worked at his Ear, Nose & Throat Institute clinics in the metro Atlanta area to order toxicology and genetic screens for every patient 12 and older who was going to have surgery and every patient who got a prescription of any kind, court records show.
Now, Dr. Jeffrey M. Gallups and his company, Milton Hall Surgical Associates, have agreed to pay about $3 million to settle a federal whistleblower lawsuit alleging that the scheme with lab company NextHealth bilked government health care programs.
The lawsuit also alleged that Gallups engaged in a separate kickback scheme with the medical device company Entellus. In return for cash and all-expense paid trips, Gallups ordered his physicians to exclusively use that company’s device for sinus surgeries, the suit alleged. Entellus Medical previously agreed to...
By Dean Aubrey Caratiquet As part of an intensified campaign against the spread of falsehoods that continue to undermine the integrity of the government and pose a threat to national security, PCO...