A Las Vegas surgical group has agreed to pay a settlement of $1.5 million in response to charges that it violated the civil False Claims Acts over a period lasting more than five years.
Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgeons of Nevada, Inc. was accused by federal prosecutors of repeatedly billing federal agencies for surgeries that didn’t take place between January 1, 2006 and May 31, 2011, according to a report in the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The group also inflated the costs of procedures that did take place, prosecutors allege.
In a press release announced the settlement, federal officials concede that wrongdoing had not been definitively determined, but also sound a warning about healthcare providers playing fast and loose with reimbursement claims.
“When providers bill government health programs for services never rendered, as alleged here, precious resources are diverted from vulnerable individuals,” Christian J. Schrank, special agent in charge for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, says in the statement. “Suspected violators can expect to pay a price.”
Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgeons of Nevada did not respond to requests for comment by the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
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