Physician Partners of America LLC, a physician practice management company, denies that it violated the False Claims Act by billing Federal health care programs for medically unnecessary testing, among other allegations. The settlement is part of the government’s ongoing effort to combat healthcare fraud, particularly related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on April 12 that Physician Partners of America LLC (PPOA), its founder, and its former chief medical officer have agreed to pay $24.5 million to resolve alleged violations of the False Claims Act (FCA) for billing Federal health care programs for medically unnecessary tests, improperly compensating physician employees for ordering such tests, and making a false statement in connection with a loan obtained through the Small Business Administration’s (SBA’s) Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The settlement does not include an admission of liability, and PPOA denies the allegations.
The matter arose from four qui tam actions filed between February 1, 2018, and March 6, 2020. During its investigation of the matter, DOJ added claims of pandemic-related healthcare fraud and an allegation that PPOA made a false statement in its PPP loan application by certifying that it had “not engaged in any activity that is illegal under federal, state or local law” during a time when it was allegedly overbilling the federal government and the State of Florida for the various testing and services...
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