$690,000 Settlement to be Paid Under False Claims Act
- August 18, 2016 by Qui Tam
- Federal False Claims Act
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Philadelphia announced that several Lehigh Valley medical facilities and three doctors will pay in excess of $690,000 to settle false health care bill claims to Medicare and other federal benefits programs. The allegations under the False Claims Act were made by whistleblower Margaret Reynard against Dr. Yasin Khan, Dr. Elizabeth Khan and Dr. Dong Ko. Also involved were Westfield Hospital and Lehigh Valley Pain Management, an affiliated pain clinic. Between July 1, 2007 and December 31, 2013, Reynard claimed that the doctors received reimbursement for services performed “incident to” by non-physicians when the doctors were not in the office or clinic, increasing the bills by 15 percent because the “incident to” services required the doctor to supervise the non-physician. In addition to Medicare, the claims were submitted to government programs such as the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program and Department of Labor Office of Worker’s Compensation programs.