The Florida Society of Anesthesiologists filed a qui tam complaint against more than 50 physicians, anesthesiology companies and ambulatory surgical centers, according to a Lexology report.
Here are five key notes:
1. The society's complaint alleges the defendants defrauded Medicare and Medicaid, violating the False Claims Act and the Florida False Claims Act.
2. The complaint accuses defendant Umesh Chaudhry, MD, owner of Defendant Curvv, which owns Advanced Anesthesia Associates and All Services Anesthesia, of securing contracts for the companies by sharing revenue with ASC owners that awarded him the contracts. In some cases, the ASCs purchasing contracts were also owned by Dr. Choudhry.
3. Some ASCs allegedly increased anesthesia utilization from approximately 60 percent of procedures to nearly 100 percent.
4. This "led to over-utilization of anesthesia, as well as potential harm to the patients who would not normally have received anesthesia services," states the complaint.
5. The United States Attorney's Office has indicated that it is declining to intervene at this time, however its investigation remains ongoing.