The Department of Justice (DOJ) released its annual report on fraud and abuse for the 2023 fiscal year. The lengthy report includes one account related to CTPs/skin subs which I mentioned in a previous blog when it happened.
HHS OIG FY 2023 HCFACA Beverly Hills, California, plastic surgeon, along with his son, and associated medical practices and billing companies (including Tower Multi-Specialty Medical Group; Tower Wound Care Center of Santa Monica, Inc.; Tower Outpatient Surgery Center, Inc.; and Tower Medical Billing Solutions) agreed to pay $23.9 million to resolve allegations that they violated the civil FCA by submitting or causing the submission of false claims to Medicare and Medicaid concerning skin substitute products. In particular, the United States alleged that defendants manipulated the place of service code on claims for skin grafts to fraudulently maximize reimbursement from Medicare and Medicaid and billed multiple times for single-use skin substitute products, including by failing to properly dispose of unused portions of single-use skin graft materials and instead using them in later procedures involving other Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries. The United States alleged that different aspects of this conduct occurred over various time periods between January 1, 2015, and March 21, 2021. In connection with the settlement, the plastic surgeon and his son agreed to be excluded from Federal health care programs by HHS-OIG for 15 and 3 years, respectively. Tower Multi-Specialty Medical Group agreed to be excluded for a period of 15 years as well.
Dr. Fife is a world renowned wound care physician dedicated to improving patient outcomes through quality driven care. Please visit my blog at CarolineFifeMD.com and my Youtube channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/carolinefifemd/videos
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