Dermatopathology Lab Settles False Claims for $3.2M; Whistleblowers to Get $584K
Family Dermatology P.C., which owns and operates a dermatopathology lab and a number of dermatology practices, has agreed to pay $3.2 million plus interest to settle allegations that the company violated the False Claims Act by engaging in improper financial relationships with a number of its employed physicians, the U.S. Department of Justice announced earlier this week.
The settlement resolved allegations that financial relationships that Family Dermatology and its affiliates had with a number of their employed physicians violated the Stark Statute and the False Claims Act. The Stark Statute restricts the financial relationships that health care providers may have with doctors who refer patients to them. Family Dermatology employs a number of dermatologists as independent contractors and it has routinely required them to use Family Dermatology’s in-house pathology lab, which operated under the name Nelson Dermatopathology, for their pathology services. The government alleged that Family Dermatology’s financial relationships with a number of these physicians did not comply with the requirements of the Stark Statute, and that Family Dermatology improperly billed Medicare for dermatopathology analyses performed by Nelson Dermatopathology on specimens that were sent to the laboratory by these employed physicians.
The allegations settled today arose from three separate lawsuits filed by three whistleblowers, Scott M. Ross MD, Mark F. Baucom and Harold Milstein MD under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act. Under the act, private citizens can bring suit on behalf of the government for false claims and share in any recovery. The whistleblowers will collectively receive more than $584,000 from the recovery announced today.
The Chanler Group, in association with the Hirst Law Group, represents whistleblowers who take action under the False Claims Act to report fraud committed against the federal and state governments. We have years of experience representing whistleblower clients who expose every kind of fraud against the government, including health care fraud, contract fraud, and tax fraud. Read more about our expertise in False Claims Act cases and how you can take action.