Two groups of Houston-based imaging centers will pay a total of $2.6 million to settle allegations that they violated the False Claims Act, according to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).
One of the groups, One Step Diagnostic, will pay $1.2 million to settle allegations that it violated the Stark statute and False Claims Act by entering into fraudulent consulting and medical director agreements with physicians who referred patients to its centers, DOJ said.
The other group of centers consists of Complete Imaging Solutions doing business as Houston Diagnostics, Deerbrook Diagnostics and Imaging Center, Elite Diagnostic, Galleria MRI and Diagnostic, Spring Imaging Center, and West Houston MRI and Diagnostics. This group will pay $1.4 million for allegedly engaging in improper financial relationships with referring physicians and billing Medicare using the provider number of a physician who had not authorized them to do so.
The settlements arose from a lawsuit filed by three whistleblowers under the False Claims Act. The settlements have been finalized without any admissions of liability, DOJ said.
