Texas Surgery Practice Loses Challenge to False Claims Verdict

A San Antonio, Texas, federal court jury properly found that a vascular surgery practice violated the False Claims Act by billing Medicare for services it didn’t perform, but the damages amount awarded must be reconsidered, a US judge has ruled.

The jury in February found that Peripheral Vascular Associates PA submitted thousands of false claims, causing $2.7 million in damages to the government, which was trebled by law to $8.1 million.

San Antonio-based Peripheral argued that the verdict was improper because the whistleblowers failed to show materiality under the FCA: whether a defendant’s alleged act influenced a government payment decision. ...