By Associated Press
Montgomery, AL – Heart Center of East Alabama has agreed to pay $231,000 to settle a federal lawsuit that accused the center of performing stress tests on patients without a doctor's supervision.
The tests allegedly occurred at facilities in Wedowee and Opelika between Jan. 1, 2003 and Dec. 31, 2006. The suit accused the center of falsely representing to the government that the tests had been under the a physician's supervision as required by Medicare regulations.
Carl Bocchicchio, an investigator for U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, said the requirement ensures that Medicare beneficiaries have immediate access to a physician throughout the test.
Former employees Carl Brackett and Dana Martin initially filed the case under whistle blower provisions of the False Claims Act. They will receive a share of the settlement, which U.S. Attorney Leura G. Canary announced last week.
Canary said in a statement that the settlement "illustrates the important role that private citizens may have in bringing fraud to the attention of the government through the qui tam (whistle blower) provisions of the False Claims Act."
The center had no comment Tuesday.