The amount includes restitution and damages.
An optician in New York state must pay the state $24,000 to resolve a case involving alleged improper billing of Medicaid.
The New York Attorney General’s Office announced the settlement with John Renna of Eggertsville. The amount includes restitution as well as damages.
The attorney general said Renna’s business, Renna Optical, “caused Medicaid to pay for eyeglasses that should have been paid for by the Medicare program” from Jan. 1, 2010, through Nov. 30, 2013.
“During the same period, Renna also caused Medicaid to pay a portion of the cost of some eyeglasses that were never actually dispensed to Medicaid recipients,” according to the announcement.
The Buffalo News reports that the case involved six patients.
Attorney General Schneiderman stated: “Medicaid should not pay for services when other available sources of payment are available or when the services billed are not actually rendered. We will keep working to root out Medicaid fraud and abuse, and recover the funds lost, so that Medicaid can continue providing critical health services to those most in need.”
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