Whistleblower News From The Inside -- March 8, 2018

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team

Florida dermatologist settles FCA suit for $2.5M – Tim Ioannides has settled allegations that he billed Medicare and TRICARE for services he did not perform. The United States alleged that Ioannides billed for muscle flaps, a surgery that involves the transposition of muscle to reconstruct extensive defects, despite not having performed them. In 2011, 2012, and 2013 Ioannides was the highest paid physician in the nation for muscle flap surgeries. Ioannides also allegedly upcoded claims for cryotherapy, a procedure that removes skin growths with the use of liquid nitrogen. The suit was brought by a whistleblower, a former patient of Ioannides, who will receive a $475K reward. USAO Southern District of Florida

Long Island pediatrics practice settles FCA suit for $750k – Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, a pediatrics practice with several locations on Long Island, has settled allegations that they did not enroll all of their employees treating Medicaid patients in the Medicaid program, but instead used the partners’ Medicaid provider information for all billings. This practice resulted in billing for services performed by providers who were not enrolled in Medicaid. The fraud was brought to light by a whistleblower. New York AG

Iowa chiropractor settles FCA suits for $80k – Bradley Brown has settled allegations that he violated the Anti-Kickback Statute. Brown allegedly improperly billed Medicare for chiropractic adjustments after he provided free electrical stimulation to patients to induce them to receive the adjustments. USAO Northern District of Iowa