The U.S. federal government announced Monday that it will obtain an $8.5 million settlement agreement from defendants UPMC, UPMC surgeon Dr. James L. Luketich and the University of Pittsburgh Physicians to resolve claims in a suit filed against these parties back in September 2021 under the False Claims Act.
Federal officials initially filed the suit against these parties following a two-year investigation where they claimed that Luketich allegedly performed up to three complex surgical procedures at the same time, that he failed to participate in "key and critical" portions of the surgeries he oversaw and that he "forced his patients to endure hours of medically unnecessary anesthesia time" while traversing between operating rooms and attending other patients or matters.
According to federal officials, these actions violated statutes and regulations prohibiting "teaching physicians" such as Luketich from being able to bill the government for "concurrent surgeries" and that these were actions that UPMC knew about at the time.
The settlement notes that the defendants are not admitting liability or conceding that these claims are founded as part of the agreement. But as part of the agreement, UPMC must also implement a "Corrective Action Plan" for Luketich, and it must submit a year-long and third-party audit of Luketich's physician fee services billing to Medicare.
"This is an important settlement and a just conclusion to the United States’ investigation into Dr. Luketich’s...
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