A Tampa pharmacy has agreed to pay more than $17 million to the federal Medicare program to settle allegations that the company fraudulently billed the government for over-the-counter COVID-19 tests that were never given out to customers.
The settlement was disclosed Friday by the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Middle District of Florida. VRA Enterprises LLC, doing business as a Tampa pharmacy called Precision RX, has agreed to pay the federal government $17.0 million to resolve allegations it violated the False Claims Act by knowingly submitting the Medicare claims for COVID-19 tests that never got sent to customers months after they were billed, according to the announcement.
“The Department of Justice has been vocal in prioritizing the pursuit of civil fraud cases against providers that raided federal health programs during the COVID-19 pandemic,” U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida Gregory Kehoe says in the announcement. “This settlement is an excellent example of our district’s commitment to meeting this important challenge.”
Prosecutors say VRA worked with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services OTC COVID-19 Test Demonstration Project to distribute tests to customers between April 2022 and May 2023. During the project, Medicare Part B beneficiaries were able to request over-the-counter COVID-19 tests from participating providers, like VRA, and those providers would be reimbursed for up to 8 tests per beneficiary per month, at a fixed rate of $12...
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