Frederick cardiologist to pay $520000 to settle false claims case – Frederick News Post (subscription)

A Frederick cardiologist agreed to pay the U.S. government over half a million dollars to settle a case in which he was accused of billing Medicare and Medicaid for services he never provided.

Dr. Hitesh Patel, who practices through Cardiology Associates in Frederick, agreed to pay $520,096, according to the settlement agreement released Friday by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland.

Prosecutors say that Patel administered tests of his patients' lower extremities to assess the sufficiency of their veins. He submitted Medicare and Medicaid claims for the same tests under two different codes, one for Doppler waveform analysis and one for the newer, more advanced Duplex scan.

Patel denied the allegations that he billed twice for the same test, but he could not provide records that he administered individual tests for each billing.

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Frederick cardiologist to pay $520000 to settle false claims case - Frederick News Post (subscription)