Watertown, N.Y.-based North Country Neurology admitted to improper and reckless billing and is paying $850,000 to settle false claims allegations, the U.S. Justice Department said Aug. 3.
The physician-owned practice admitted to 120 occasions between September 2015 and June 2019, in which it submitted claims to CMS that incorrectly listed a physician as the provider who rendered services, the department said. Instead, those services were performed by a physician assistant, with no physician physically present to supervise or assist.
North Country Neurology also improperly billed CMS 761 times for Botox that had already been paid for by other insurers, the department said. The practice has since retained a compliance and practice management consultant.