FILED FALSE COVID-19 CLAIMS?
A group of entities which collectively do business as “CityMD” – operators of some 177 urgent care centers around the New York and New Jersey – have agreed to pay over $12 million to resolve allegations that they submitted false claims of COVID-19 related testing of uninsured individuals.
Apparently, from February 4, 2020 to April 5, 2022, the companies did not confirm whether or not patients had health insurance before submitting claims and are also said to have encouraged outside laboratories to submit false claims.
In response to a whistleblower complaint brought by a patient, the government intervened -- United States ex rel. Kitzinger v. City Practice Group of New York LLC d/b/a CityMD, Civ. No. 2:20-cv-20111-SRC-CLW (D.N.J.) -- and in light of the recently announced settlement, that individual will receive some $2,046,308 of the recovered sums.
In a written statement, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division, noted that, “The Uninsured Program provided critical financial support for COVID-19 related testing and treatment for uninsured Americans during the height of the pandemic …. Today’s settlement reflects the department’s commitment to ensuring that the pandemic relief programs created by Congress were used as intended.”
While U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger for the District of New Jersey, added that, “Uninsured Americans who were at risk from COVID-19 were covered by emergency funding programs that made available to them the testing, vaccines, and treatments that they needed …. The alleged misuse of these funds is something we cannot and will not tolerate. Today’s settlement ensures that the money that was obtained inappropriately will be returned to the government.”
That’s likely not what the doctor(s) ordered.
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