A Mississippi orthopedic clinic and its owner have agreed to pay $1.8 million to settle allegations he overbilled Medicare and Medicaid for viscosupplementation agents, according to the Justice Department.
Hanna "Johnny" Mitias, MD, owns Mitias Orthopaedics and subsidiary Champion Orthopedics in New Albany, Miss. According to a Jan. 12 news release from the Justice Department, Dr. Mitias allegedly submitted false claims to Medicare and Medicaid between 2008 and 2015.
The Justice Department alleges Dr. Mitias billed Medicare and Medicaid for brand-name viscosupplementation knee injections. These brand name injections were much higher in price than the cheaper, compounded agents the Justice Department alleges Dr. Mitias used, allowing him to claim higher reimbursements.
The settlement resolves a suit filed in 2015 by a medical devices sales representative under the whistleblower provision of the False Claims Act. According to the Justice Department, the claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.