ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A Florida doctor has agreed to pay $1.74 million to resolve allegations that he submitted fraudulent Medicare claims, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Orlando announced.
Dr. Thi Thien Nguyen Tran and the Village Dermatology and Cosmetic Surgery were accused of billing Medicare for higher levels of reimbursements than were performed in the central Florida facility, according to a news release.
The cases involved tissue transfers that were apparently billed as more complex cases between Jan. 1, 2011 and July 31, 2016, the statement said. This included 14,000 level tissue transfers which should have been billed as lower level wound repairs.
The inflated claims were paid by Medicare.
“Protecting federal healthcare programs and the patients who receive their care is among our top priorities,” U.S. Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez said in a statement released Friday. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office will continue to hold accountable those who inflate claims to Medicare or abuse any of our nation’s healthcare programs.”
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