A federal lawsuit unsealed Monday after seven years of secrecy has revealed fraud allegations by a former University of Miami executive that the school’s health care system billed millions of dollars in unnecessary lab tests to Medicare and stuck patients with hidden charges for clinic visits.
The Justice Department began investigating the allegations after they were raised by the former chief operating officer of the UM Miller School of Medicine, Jonathan “Jack” Lord, who filed a whistleblower lawsuit in 2013.
Court records show UM and the Justice Department, which joined Lord’s lawsuit, have reached an “agreement in principle.” The proposed settlement is likely to cost the university $22 million to resolve the case.
Lord accused the university of filing false claims with Medicare for unnecessary transplant tests and overcharging for clinic visits during a period when UM was struggling with debt while transforming its medical school into an academic health care system.
Read more at our news partner the Miami Herald.
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