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Paul S. Koch, the former owner of the Koch Eye Associates chain, has agreed to pay $1.1 million to settle kickback claims.
The settlement was announced Thursday by the office of U.S. Attorney Zachary Cunha.
Federal prosecutors alleged that Koch, along with Koch Eye Associates and Claris Vision, paid kickbacks to optometrists who referred patients for laser-assisted cataract surgery. Patients paid up to $2,900 per eye, out of pocket, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The government also alleged that the kickbacks “resulted in the submission of false claims to Medicare under the federal False Claims Act.” They allegedly took place over a five year period, from Jan. 1, 2013, through Dec. 31, 2017.
Two whistleblowers filed a qui tam complaint in the U.S. District Court for Rhode Island, and Koch is paying $1,166,072 to resolve that complaint.
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The case was also investigated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General and the FBI, and litigated by Asst. U.S. Attorneys Dulce Donovan and Bethany N. Wong.
“Through this settlement, the government is recovering twice the amount paid by Medicare for claims associated with the illegal kickbacks paid by Dr. Koch and his affiliates,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. “Under the provisions of the False Claims Act, the whistleblowers will receive $256,535 out of the settlement payment.”
“Patients should be able to feel secure that when their doctors make decisions that impact their health – whether about prescriptions, surgeries, or referrals – those decisions are based on sound medical judgment, and not illegal monetary incentives,” Cunha said in a statement. “When medical decision making is corrupted by kickbacks at the expense of federal Medicare dollars, we will hold those responsible to account.”
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Kickbacks, Medicare fraud and cataract surgery: Former Koch Eye Associates owner settles case
