Walnut Creek-based Comprehensive Psychiatric Services has agreed to pay $2.75 million as part of a settlement over allegations that the behavioral health care provider submitted false claims, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Tuesday.
Between Jan. 1, 2015 and Dec. 31, 2022, the DOJ alleges that the company and its health care providers submitted insurance claims using “add-on” codes when psychotherapy services are performed with an evaluation and management visit, according to the news release. However, the DOJ claims that the codes were used when the services hadn’t been provided or weren’t adequately documented.
Comprehensive Psychiatric Services will pay $2.6 million to the United States government and $134,430 to the state of California as all claims were submitted to government payors.
“Providers that participate in federally funded health care programs must abide by the rules and submit proper claims for care that was in fact rendered,” United States Attorney Craig H. Missakian said in the news release. “To do otherwise is to drain resources from our fellow Americans who rely on Medicare and other government programs. This settlement sends a clear message that we will continue to investigate and pursue any entity that fraudulently seeks to increase profits at taxpayers’ expense.
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