American Health Associates, Inc. (AHA) has agreed to pay the United States $142,718 to resolve False Claims Act allegations that they knowingly caused the submission of false claims to Medicare for diagnostic testing. AHA has offices in Cincinnati and in 2014, acquired MedLab, which provided laboratory services to Access Hospital Dayton, LLC. The government alleged that, between January 2015 and December 2019, AHA knowingly caused the submission of false claims to Medicare for diagnostic laboratory tests that were performed during patients’ inpatient stays at Access Hospital Dayton and already covered by the inpatient admission. Medicare prohibits separate payment for diagnostic testing performed during an inpatient admission. The government’s settlement in this matter follows the federal government’s earlier settlement with Access Hospital Dayton, bringing the federal government’s total recovery in this matter to approximately $517,498. The False Claims Act permits the United States to recover a multiplier of as much as three times the amount of damages sustained by the Government. The settlements with Access Hospital Dayton and AHA were consistent with the multiple damages recovery allowable under the False Claims Act.
