NEW YORK (Legal Newsline) — New York Attorney General Barbara D. Underwood announced June 5 that City Practice Group of New York LLC (CityMD) will pay $883,000 after allegedly submitting false claims to New York’s Empire Plan, which covers local and state government employees and their dependents.
According to allegations, CityMD knowingly allowed affiliates to overbill the Empire Plan for facility fees. The scheme, which occurred from December 2010 to September 2013, led to a total of $197,390.52 in overbilling.
“My office will not tolerate healthcare providers who overbill government healthcare plans,” Underwood said in a statement. “[This] settlement makes clear we will hold accountable any entity responsible for false payment claims to the Empire Plan or other government health plans.”
Handling the case for New York were assistant attorney general Laura Jereski, with support from legal support analyst Bianca LaVeglia.
Underwood’s office notes that its Taxpayer Protection Bureau, oversees enforcement actions under the New York False Claims Act. The bureau lies within Underwood’s Economic Justice Division. Deputy chief Scott J. Spiegelman heads up the Taxpayer Protection Bureau, and executive deputy attorney general Manisha M. Sheth leads the Economic Justice Division.