Dallas-based Aymancare PLLC has agreed to pay $7.5 million to resolve allegations that it overbilled the federal government for COVID-19 testing at its Dallas-area clinics, according to an Aug. 26 news release by the Justice Department.
The settlement resolves claims that Aymancare improperly billed for evaluation and management services alongside free, federally funded COVID-19 tests offered through temporary testing sites. Investigators allege the clinic charged for patient office visits that never occurred, when patients in fact received only a nasal swab test.
The federal testing program, run through the Health Resources and Service Administration, was designed to provide free COVID-19 testing to uninsured patients. Prosecutors say Aymancare’s billing practices went beyond legitimate specimen collection and testing charges.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Stoltz handled the matter, which was resolved under the False Claims Act.
The settlement adds to a wave of federal enforcement actions targeting COVID-19 testing billing practices at clinics and laboratories nationwide since the pandemic-era testing programs expanded access to free testing.
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