A Kansas cardiologist and his practice group will pay $1.3 million to settle claims that they submitted false claims to Medicare.
The Justice Department contends that from 2001 to 2006 Joseph P. Galichia, MD, and the Galichia Medical Group violated the False Claims Act by submitting claims for services not provided and, in other instances, submitting claims without proper documentation.
In May 2000, Galichia and the Galichia Medical Group agreed to pay more than $1.5 million to settle a previous False Claims Act matter. In that case, between 1993 and 1998, Galichia allegedly billed Medicare for a higher level of services than provided (up-coding), billed twice for the same services and billed for services not provided.
"The Department of Justice is committed to ensuring that Medicare funds are paid out appropriately for services actually provided to beneficiaries," said Michael F. Hertz, acting assistant attorney general for the department’s civil division.
As part of the settlement, Galichia and the Galichia Medical Group have signed a so-called "integrity agreement" with the Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Inspector General. The agreement contains measures to ensure compliance with Medicare regulations and policies in the future.
"Exposing Medicare fraud is a top government priority," said Lewis Morris, chief counsel to the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services. "We will aggressively pursue both individuals and companies seeking to enrich themselves by cheating U.S. taxpayers and the nation’s healthcare system."