Atlanta-based CRH Healthcare and Peachtree Immediate Care have agreed to pay $1.6 million to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by submitting upcoded evaluation and management claims to Medicare.
The civil settlement resolves allegations concerning Medicare claims for the testing and treatment of patients with potential exposure to COVID-19 during the pandemic, according to a June 20 news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia.
"When providers submit improper claims to Medicare, they waste valuable taxpayer dollars," Special Agent in Charge with the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General Tamala Miles said in the release.
"Health care providers played a critical role in keeping our nation safe during the COVID-19 pandemic, and HHS-OIG is committed to protecting federal health care programs from fraud, waste, and abuse to ensure they can be used for their intended purposes," Ms. Miles continued.
The lawsuits were filed by former employees of the urgent care chain under the whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act. The whistleblowers will receive $320,000 from the settlement.