Pharmasan Labs and NeuroScience, both based in Osceola, Wis., and two executives, Gottfried Kellermann and Mieke Kellermann, have agreed to pay $8.5 million to the federal government to resolve False Claims Act allegations, according to the Department of Justice.
The lawsuit — filed by Pharmasan's former billing manager Richard Forrest under the qui tam provisiona of the False Claims Act — claimed both companies submitted false information for laboratory services billed to Medicare, as well as violating rules pertaining to services referred by non-physician practitioners.
According to the complaint, Pharmasan billed government healthcare programs for thousands of tests that did not meet federal and Medicaid guidelines for reimbursement because they were medically unnecessary, experimental or investigative. The lawsuit further alleges Pharmasan intentionally altered its billing codes to prevent detection.