Last month, as part of a nation-wide crackdown on Medicaid fraud dubbed “Operation You’ve Got Nerve”, North Carolina’s Acting US Attorney and Attorney General resolved health care fraud allegations against three local medical practices with a $300,000 settlement. The case, which opened in X, charged Dr. George Osei-Bonsu, M.D., Palladium Primary Care, P.A., and Premiere Health Care Plus, P.A., of Greensboro and High Point of fraudulently billing Medicare and Medicaid.
According to a recent Department of Justice press release, the defendants were reimbursed after “allegedly [submitting] false or fraudulent claims for nerve conduction studies and arterial studies that were not medically reasonable or necessary, not supported by clinical documentation within the patient records, and not covered by the Medicare and/or North Carolina Medicaid program” over a five year period.
As per the North Carolina and federal False Claims Acts, the government has authority to recover up to three times the amount of money that was fraudulently made in addition to civil penalties. To date, the state of North Carolina has already recovered over $1.19 million for taxpayers through Operation You’ve Got Nerve with little chance of slowing down their investigations.
It’s important to note that as a settlement, the defendants of this civil claims case have not been found guilty of the charges. A settlement is not indicative of accepting any allegations made against them. If you or your medical practice has been charged with health care fraud, it’s important to discuss all possible avenues of resolution with your lawyers such as a settlement. To speak with our defense attorneys that are specialized in health care fraud, give us a call to set up a confidential consultation at (305) 455 5206.
