Fraudulent utilization and billing of urine drug screening has become a priority for federal enforcers since the $256 million Millennium settlement of 2016. Subsequent cases have targeted abuses … [Read more...]
ENFORCEMENT
Case of the Month: Milwaukee Clinic the Latest MD-Owned Lab Busted for Urine Drug Test Abuses
April 18, 2019
DRUG TESTING
Enforcement Trends: CMS Looks to Recover $66.3 Million in Improper Specimen Validity Test Payments
April 1, 2019
The opioid crackdown has made urine drug testing an even greater priority for federal health fraud enforcers. One principle target is specimen validity testing (SVT) billed in combination with urine … [Read more...]
DRUG TESTING
Enforcement Trends: CMS Orders Medicare Contractors to Go After Labs that Received Specimen Validity Test Payments
March 27, 2019
Reflecting the wider opioid crackdown, CMS is targeting labs that perform urine drug testing for potential billing abuses. The hottest initiative: Labs that bill specimen validity testing (SVT) in … [Read more...]
WHISTLEBLOWERS
Labs In Court: A roundup of recent cases and enforcement actions involving the diagnostics industry
September 26, 2018
Texas Lab and Owner Get 15-Year Exclusion for Medicare Mileage Swindle Case: What would you do if your bill for a $43 blood test included a $1,500 travel fee? The patient who actually received such a … [Read more...]
WHISTLEBLOWERS
Labs In Court: A roundup of recent cases and enforcement actions involving the diagnostics industry
August 22, 2018
HDL's Former CEO Pays $10 Million to Settle Bankruptcy Claims Case: Health Diagnostic Laboratory co-founder and former CEO Tonya Mallory has agreed to pay $10 million to settle claims brought by the … [Read more...]
COURT CASES
Labs In Court: A roundup of recent cases and enforcement actions involving the diagnostics industry
July 13, 2018
Cancer Center Hit with $4.3 Million HIPAA Fine for Failure to Encrypt Case: The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center was on the wrong end of the fourth largest HIPAA fine ever dished out by … [Read more...]
COURT CASES
Labs In Court: A roundup of recent cases and enforcement actions involving the diagnostics industry
June 19, 2018
Psychiatrist Pays $805K to Settle Urine Drug Test Billing Fraud Claims Case: The DOJ charged the owner of a Connecticut psychiatric practice of false billing of urine drug screening tests. The … [Read more...]
OVERPAYMENTS
CMS to OIG: Get Back the $66.3 Million You Improperly Paid to Labs for Urine Validity Tests
April 10, 2018
As if times were not already tense enough for labs that bill Medicare for urine drug tests, the OIG ratcheted up the pressure another notch on Feb. 20 by issuing a new report chiding CMS for making … [Read more...]
OPIOIDS
Enforcement Trends: Labs Getting Swept into the Opioid Crackdown Vortex
March 26, 2018
Best known for its employment applications, urine drug testing is also medical protocol for patients prescribed opioid drugs. Urine tests are used to ensure patients are not developing addictions and … [Read more...]
DRUG TESTING
Part B Reimbursement: OIG Flags $66.3 Million in Improper Urine Specimen Validity Test Payments
March 16, 2018
These are tense times for providers of urine drug tests for Medicare and Medicaid patients. And on Feb. 20, the hot seat got even hotter with the issuance of a new OIG report saying CMS made $66.3 … [Read more...]
