An optometrist in Austin, Texas, has agreed to pay the U.S. and the state of Texas $1,055,379 to resolve allegations that he violated the False Claims Act and the Texas Health Care Program Fraud Prevention Act.
According to a Nov. 1 news release from the Justice Department, Tony Jacob, MD, allegedly submitted claims to TriCare, Medicare and Medicaid through his network of optometry practices using the National Provider Identifiers of optometrists who did not perform the services billed.
His practices allegedly submitted these claims under the incorrect NPI in situations where the optometrist who rendered services was not credentialed or enrolled in the federal healthcare program that was billed.