Natick, Mass.-based medical device company THD America and its parent company will pay $700,000 to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act.
Between 2014 and 2017, the company allegedly knowingly caused colorectal and general surgeons to use incorrect codes to obtain inflated reimbursements from Medicare and state Medicaid programs for the use of THD's hemorrhoid removal system, according to a Sept. 6 news release from the Justice Department.
The removal system was sold to physicians for use in transanal hemorrhoidal dearterialization, according to the release, and THD required physicians to bill for the procedure using a temporary code for new and emerging procedures, which are often denied.
To avoid denials, THD encouraged colorectal and general surgeons to improperly bill Medicare and Medicaid programs using the temporary code plus an additional CPT code or to bill for other CPT codes.