Compliance News Roundup: Northwest ENT Agreed to Pay $1,195,361 in False Claims Act Violations

1. Ambulance Company and its Municipal Clients Agree to Pay Over $21 Million to Settle Allegations of Unlawful Kickbacks and Improper Financial Relationships – “The United States’ efforts in this case ended abusive practices in the ambulance industry,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Chad A. Readler for the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “These settlements demonstrate our commitment to ensuring that health care decisions are made based on patient needs, not a health care provider’s financial interests.” Get the full scoop >>

2. California Doctor Convicted of Medicare Kickback Conspiracy – “A federal jury in Los Angeles, California found a Lancaster, California doctor guilty today of conspiracy for his role in a Medicare kickback conspiracy involving a Los Angeles-area home health agency...Kanagasabai Kanakeswaran, M.D., 65, was convicted of one count of conspiracy to pay and/or receive kickbacks for Medicare referrals and four counts of receiving kickbacks for Medicare referrals after a six-day trial. Sentencing has been scheduled for Jan. 7, 2019 before U.S. District Judge Philip S. Gutierrez of the Central District of California, who presided over the trial.” Get the full scoop >>

3. Deeper Than the Headlines: Northwest ENT agreed to pay $1,195,361 to False Claims Act Violations – “On August 3, 2018, the Department of Justice announced a settlement with the physician practice Northwest ENT Associates, in Georgia.  Northwest ENT agreed to pay $1,195,361 to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by submitting claims for sinus dilation procedures in which it reused balloon catheters that were intended for single use only.” Get the full scoop >>