New York Attorney General Letitia James announced that her office, in conjunction with the US Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York, has reached a settlement with Ahmad M. Mehdi, MD and Ahmad M. Mehdi, MD, PC. This settlement resolves an investigation involving Medicaid overpayments for “upcoded” medical services, as well as Medicaid payments for smoking cessation counseling that were not sufficiently documented. “Upcoding” is the improper practice of claiming reimbursement for enhanced and more lucrative procedures than were in fact performed. As part of a joint settlement, Mehdi has agreed to reimburse $260,000 to the state Medicaid program and to pay a penalty amount of $308,750. In the companion civil settlement agreement with the US Attorney, Mehdi will pay $331,250 to the federal government to settle upcoding and smoking cessation claims, and certain claims arising under the Controlled Substances Act.
