Quest Diagnostics
This article was originally published in The Gray Sheet
Executive Summary
Settlement of laboratory test billing fraud charges includes payment of $13.1 mil. The Department of Justice alleged Nichols Institute, acquired by Quest in 1994, illegally billed Medicare, Medicaid, TRICARE, the Department of Defense, and Federal Employees Health Benefits Program from 1989 to 1995 - charging separately for groups of lab tests in order to get a higher reimbursement payment. The settlement is a result of the government's interagency LABSCAM operation, which has recovered $850 mil. in fraudulent payments to date