The U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Rhode Island, recently reached an agreement with Paul S. Koch, MD, former owner of several ophthalmology practices in the state branded with his name, to settle civil allegations he paid kickbacks to optometrists who referred patients to his practices for cataract surgeries.
According to the agreement, which was announced by U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Cunha, Koch will pay $1,166,072 to settle the claims brought as part of a qui tam complaint filed in federal court in the District of Rhode Island by two whistleblowers.
According to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, from January 1, 2013, through December 31, 2017, Koch, Koch Eye Associates and Claris Vision, paid financial kickbacks to referring optometrists whose patients elected to receive laser-assisted cataract surgery, for which patients paid up to $2,900 out-of-pocket per eye.
The release noted the government contends the payments to the referring optometrists were illegal under the anti-kickback statute, a federal law that prohibits financial payments to entice medical referrals that are reimbursed by federal healthcare payors, like the Medicare program.
In the Koch case, U.S. attorneys maintain the kickbacks from optometrists led to the submission of false claims to Medicare in violation of the federal False Claims Act.
Through the settlement, U.S. attorneys are recovering twice the amount paid by Medicare for claims associated with the illegal kickbacks paid by...
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