A North Carolina man and his medical practice are to pay $625,000 in charges to settle allegations that their actions violated antifraud regulations.
These reported allegations revolve around Dr. Eric Troyer and his practice, Troyer Medical Inc. P.C. (TMI), and irregular and improper billed services to the North Carolina Medicaid program.
The regulations set out by the Anti-Kickback Statute prohibit “offering, paying, soliciting or receiving remuneration to induce referrals of items or services covered by Medicare, Medicaid, TRICARE, and other federally funded healthcare programs,” according to the United States.
“Patients should be able to trust that their healthcare provider’s recommendations are for their well-being and not for the provider’s financial gain,” said U.S. Attorney Adair Ford Boroughs for the District of South Carolina. “We will continue to hold accountable those who undermine the integrity of the healthcare system by giving or receiving kickbacks.”
North Carolina man and medical practice to pay $625,000 to settle allegations
The settlement achieved by the collaboration of the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of South Carolina closes the allegations aimed at Troyer.
It was alleged that from August 2015 to November 2021, the doctor and his medical practice “received kickbacks from a laboratory in Anderson, South Carolina, in return for Troyer’s referrals to that laboratory.”
These referrals came disguised as payments for purported phlebotomy services, office space rentals, and the lease of a chemistry analyzer machine. They resulted in the submission of false or fraudulent laboratory testing claims to Medicare, Medicaid, and TRICARE in violation of the False Claims Act.
Healthcare fraud has been a key topic that the United States government has been keen to crack down on. The antifraud members of the government task force have previously investigated the same laboratory that Troyer used, and previous allegations have been resolved in South Carolina, North Carolina, and Texas.
“Kickback arrangements aimed at improperly influencing medical decisions will remain a top investigative priority for our agency,” said Special Agent in Charge Tamala E. Miles of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG).
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