A Nevada radiology practice has agreed to pay $2 million to settle accusations by the U.S. government that it submitted false reimbursement claims to Medicare.
West Valley Imaging of Las Vegas entered into the agreement with the Office of Inspector General (OIG) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The settlement was one of the largest agreements ever under its civil monetary penalty code with a Nevada radiology practice, the OIG said.
West Valley Imaging and its principals, Dr. William Boren and Dr. Luke Cesaretti, will pay the settlement to resolve allegations that they submitted false claims to Medicare. The OIG claims that Boren and Cesaretti improperly provided diagnostic tests to Medicare beneficiaries without treating physicians' orders and billed for certain tests under Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes not supported by medical records. The radiology firm has also signed a five-year integrity agreement with the OIG, the agency said.
Boren and Cesaretti have contested the OIG's claims and deny any liability.
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