A Murray ear, nose and throat doctor has agreed to pay $2,791,758 to settle false claims allegations.
The Western District of Kentucky U.S. Attorney's Office said in a release on Tuesday doctor Phillip Klapper M.D., Patricia Klapper and Phillip Klapper P.S.C. - collectively known as Klapper - resolved claims that they improperly billed a federal healthcare program for audiological services and hearing aids.
Attorneys contended Klapper knowingly submitted false or fraudulent claims seeking reimbursement under the Federal Employees' Compensation Act when the claims falsely indicated that audiological tests were performed by licensed and certified personnel though they were performed by personnel lacking such credentials and/or results were altered to enable some claimants to appear to have hearing losses.
Klapper also agreed to be permanently excluded from future participation in the FECA program. In agreeing to the settlement, Klapper made no admission of liability.
U.S. Attorney Russell Coleman said, “Medical providers who overbill federal healthcare programs defraud the taxpayers and drive up the cost of healthcare for us all. Recovering taxpayer dollars lost to fraud helps keep strong those critical public healthcare programs so many people depend on.”
The matter was handled by Assistant United States Attorney L. Jay Gilbert, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Kentucky, and the U.S. Department of Labor. The U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Offices of the Inspectors General of the U.S. Department of Labor, the U.S. Department of Justice, and the Tennessee Valley Authority conducted the investigation.
