A doctor of osteopathic medicine from Bellaire has paid to resolve allegations he falsely certified patients for home health services and received improper payments. Truc Le, 51, is a primary care physician in southwest Houston. In 2016, authorities began an investigation into a home health agency known as Unified Medical Group Inc. That investigation appeared to show Le had certified patients for home health services without any knowledge of the patients’ medical condition or homebound status. Instead, Le signed forms that Unified representatives provided to him on a regular basis. In addition, Unified sent improper payments to Le in violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute. It prohibits offering or paying remuneration to induce the referral of items or services that Medicare, Medicaid and other federally-funded programs cover. Claims submitted to these programs in violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute give rise to liability under the False Claims Act. Le has agreed to pay $475,000 to resolve the allegations.
