FREDERICK- A Maryland oncology practice and its owner agreed to pay more than $1.4 million to settle fraudulent billing allegations.
Progressive Oncology & Hematology, LLC (Progressive), an oncology practice offering chemotherapy services in Frederick, Maryland, and its owner and sole provider, Mouhamad Bazzi, MD, agreed to pay the United States $1.45 million to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act.
According to the United States, Progressive and Bazzi knowingly submitted claims to Medicare, Medicaid, and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for reimbursement for chemotherapy drugs that the defendants did not pay for. Specifically, the government alleges Progressive and Bazzi submitted claims for reimbursement for drugs that came from charitable organizations or through grant programs for specific patients at no expense to the defendants.
Additionally, the government further alleges Progressive and Bazzi directed that wastage (small amounts of extra medication) from single-use vials of drugs intended for one patient be split across two or more patients. The defendants then submitted claims as if each patient received their own single-use vial. It is also alleged that Progressive and Bazzi billed federal and state health insurance programs for chemotherapy drugs Bazzi prescribed but never administered to patients at the practice.
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