August 29, 2010
"“This lawsuit shows what happens when a doctor puts money before the health and safety of his patients,” said Sally Quillian Yates, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia earlier this month after her office filed suit against Dr. Robert M. Ritchea. According to allegations in the Complaint:
“[Dr. Ritchea] allowed an unlicensed medical assistant to administer injections that are required to be administered by a physician; assigned treatment codes improperly in order to increase the amount of Medicare reimbursement he received; prescribed and administered the pain treatment protocol in situations where it was not medically necessary; and billed Medicare for procedures that were not reimbursable by Medicare.” Read More
From DOJ Press Release:
"The complaint alleges RITCHEA over-billed Medicare by more than $2.2 million in over 4300 separate claims. Pursuant to the False Claims Act, if RITCHEA is found liable, the government is entitled to treble damages and civil monetary penalties ranging from $5,500-$11,000 per claim.
The United States’ complaint is part of the government’s emphasis on combating health care fraud. One of the most powerful tools in that effort is the False Claims Act, which the Justice Department has used to recover approximately $3 billion nationwide since January 2009 in cases involving fraud against federal health care programs. The Justice Department’s total recoveries in other types of False Claims Act cases have topped $4 billion since January 2009. . . " Read More
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