Ophthalmic Consultants, P.A. (Sarasota, FL) and Dr. Robert K. Snyder—collectively, Ophthalmic Consultants—have agreed to pay $4.8 million to resolve allegations of healthcare fraud. Specifically, the government alleged that Ophthalmic Consultants had submitted false claims to Medicare, TRICARE, and the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) for treatments using the drugs ranibizumab (Lucentis®) and aflipercept (Eylea®) to treat patients who had wet age-related macular generation or other diseases of the eye. Although each vial contains a moderate overfill, Lucentis and Eylea are single-use medications that are not designed for multiple uses. Notwithstanding the single-use nature of Lucentis and Eylea, Ophthalmic Consultants engaged in the practice of multi-dosing (using a single drug vial to provide doses to multiple patients) to obtain excessive reimbursements from Medicare, TRICARE, and FEHBP.
