HARTFORD, Conn. — On Thursday, Connecticut Attorney General William Tong announced that the state has joined the United States, the District of Columbia and 42 other states in settling allegations against Precision Toxicology, LLC d/b/a Precision Diagnostics, Inc.
The $27 million settlement resolves allegations that Precision knowingly submitted or caused false claims to be submitted to the Medicaid program related to urine drug testing, or UDT, that was either not medically necessary or tainted by kickbacks, according to Tong’s office.
Through the settlement, Connecticut will receive $277,780 in restitution and other recoveries.
The allegations resolved were set forth in three lawsuits filed by whistleblowers under the provisions of the False Claims Act that enable private parties to bring suit on behalf of the government and to share in recovery.
Precision is a toxicology laboratory that markets and performs laboratory UDT across the country, mostly for substance use disorder and pain management providers. Tong’s office says that the settlement resolves allegations that from Jan. 1, 2013, through Dec. 31, 2022, Precision submitted or caused false claims to be submitted to Medicaid for UDT that was not medically reasonable and necessary for diagnosis or treatment.
It was specifically alleged that Precision developed and put in place a policy and practice of using non-allowable blanket orders for UDT without any physician making an individualized determination that the UDT was medically necessary or reasonable for the patients that the tests were ordered for.
Additionally, the settlement resolves allegations that Precision, from Jan. 12, 2013, through June 30, 2014, provided free point-of-care UDT cups to physicians in exchange for UDT referrals, violating an Anti-Kickback Statute.
RELATED: Connecticut Attorney General announces $1.7 million false claims settlement with Enzo Clinical Labs
“Kickbacks and claims for medically unnecessary tests threaten the integrity of public health care programs and waste taxpayer dollars,” Tong said. “We will continue to work closely with our partners at the state and federal level to root out illegal practices and protect our public healthcare programs and the patients they serve.”
Tong’s office encourages anyone with knowledge of suspected fraud or abuse in the public healthcare system to contact the Attorney General’s Government Fraud Section at 860-808-5040 or by email at ag.fraud@ct.gov.
They can also contact the state Medicaid Fraud Control Unit at 860-258-5986 or by email at conndcj@ct.gov. The state Department of Social Services fraud reporting hotline is 1-800-842-2155 and can be reached here online or by email to providerfraud.dss@ct.gov.
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Dalton Zbierski is a digital content producer and writer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at dzbierski@FOX61.com.
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