The US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri announced today that Total Access Urgent Care (TAUC) has agreed to pay $9,150,794 to settle allegations that TAUC submitted false claims for medical services, including COVID-19 testing. According to the United States’ allegations, from April of 2017 through November of 2021, TAUC submitted claims for payment to Medicare and TRICARE indicating that a physician performed office visits when a non-physician practitioner had actually done so, thereby receiving reimbursement at a higher rate. From November of 2015 through November of 2021, TAUC submitted claims to Medicare and TRICARE for office visits that were upcoded. During the latter portion of that period, it also submitted upcoded office visit claims to a program that reimbursed for the testing or treatment of, and vaccination against, COVID-19 for people who were uninsured, the Health Resources and Services Administration’s COVID-19 Claims Reimbursement to Health Care Providers and Facilities for Testing, Treatment, and Vaccine Administration for the Uninsured Program (UIP), the government alleges. TAUC voluntarily disclosed during the investigation that from April 1, 2021, through Dec. 31, 2021, it submitted false claims to Medicare, TRICARE and the UIP for COVID testing using improper billing codes, again receiving reimbursements at a higher rate.
