Renaissance Imaging Medical Associates, a Los Angeles-based radiology group, has agreed to pay $2.35 million to settle its alleged involvement in a false claims lawsuit totaling more than $62 million.
According to a March 26 news release from the U.S. Department of Justice, RIMA allegedly conspired with Seoul Medical Group, also based in Los Angeles, in connection with the false diagnoses of two spinal conditions.
SMG and its wholly owned subsidiary, Advanced Medical Management, have agreed to pay $58.74 million. The company’s former president, Min Cha, MD, has agreed to pay $1.76 million for allegedly submitting false diagnosis codes for the two spinal conditions in order to increase payments from the Medicare Advantage program.
“We are pleased to have resolved this matter and demonstrated that SMG reversed the conduct described in the settlement. The settlement will not have any financial, operational or other costs or impact to SMG or AMM,” a spokesperson for the group said in a statement. “We are committed to continually enhancing our practices and maintaining the highest standards of compliance. We remain focused on our mission of serving our communities and improving access, affordability and quality of healthcare for our patients.”
