Justice Department Says Cardiac Scan Provider Defrauded Medicare

The US government alleges that mobile scanning company Cardiac Imaging Inc. and its former president violated the False Claims Act by overpaying fees to doctors in exchange for patient referrals for cardiac positron emission tomography scans.

Cardiac Imaging and Rick Nassenstein allegedly engaged in a scheme whereby the company paid “exorbitant, above-fair market value fees” in violation of a physician self-referral law known as the Stark Law. And claims for payment they knowingly submitted to Medicare in violation of that law also violated the FCA, the Justice Department said in a Monday press release.

Whistleblower and former billing manager ...