Billing service company Janzen, Johnston & Rockwell Emergency Medicine Management Services has agreed to pay $4.6 million to settle federal allegations that it submitted false claims to government health programs, according to a news release from the Department of Justice.
From approximately 2000-2007, JJ&R allegedly overbilled Medicare and Louisiana’s Medicaid program by utilizing a coding formula that had a tendency to generate claims for a marginally higher level of service than physicians had actually provided. The government claims the company also routinely added charges for minor services, such as pulse oximetry.
“Inflating individual healthcare claims by even small amounts can cause significant losses to Medicare and Medicaid,” Tony West, assistant attorney general for the civil division of the Department of Justice, said in the news release. “Taxpayers should not be on the hook for charges that shouldn’t have been added or claims that shouldn’t have been submitted.”
JJ&R is headquartered in El Segundo, Calif.
Related Articles on Healthcare Fraud:
Lab Corp. Settles Medi-Cal Abuse Charges With $49.5M Settlement
Houston Medical Equipment Company Owner Gets 97 Months in Prison for Medicare Fraud
UT Southwestern Med Center to Pay $1.4M to Settle Alleged False Claims
