Two Newburgh doctors and their medical practice have settled a Medicare and Medicaid fraud lawsuit that was initiated by a whistleblower who worked for them.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams announced the settlement on Aug. 19 requiring Drs. Manish A. Raval and Ashikkumar A. Raval and Orange Medical Care P.C. to repay at least $600,000 of a $1.6 million judgment.
Former employee Niki Patel, an internal medicine physician who worked for Orange Medical Care for more than a year, filed a False Claims Act lawsuit in 2016 that alleged improper billing practices. The U.S. Attorney joined the lawsuit, on behalf of the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and New York State.
Orange Medical Care takes a holistic approach to medicine, according to its website, and offers primary care internal medicine services, pediatric and adolescent care, and addiction medicine.
From 2006 through 2022, the civil complaint states, an outside billing company submitted claims to Medicare and Medicaid for services purportedly provided by the Ravals. The services were actually provided by physician assistants or nurse practitioners who were not credentialled by the federal programs and who were not directly supervised by the doctors.
In many instances, according to the complaint, the Ravals were traveling outside of the U.S. when patients were treated, and patient records were altered to make it look like one of the Ravals had provided the services.
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