A New Jersey-based opioid abuse treatment center will pay $3.15 million to resolve criminal and civil claims it solicited kickbacks, obstructed a federal audit and fraudulently billed Medicaid, the Justice Department said Dec. 5.
Camden Treatment Associates agreed to pay $1.5 million of the total figure in criminal penalties related to the allegations over the Medicaid audit and the kickbacks, according to a news release. The company has to stick to a three-year program aimed at abiding by certain measures to avoid prosecution.
The kickback allegations involved a second company focused on methadone mixing; that company was owned and managed by parties related to Camden Treatment Associates. CTA received more than $2.78 million from Medicaid for methadone administration services.
The company also entered into a civil settlement agreement to pay a remaining $1.65 million to resolve claims it fraudulently billed Medicaid.
"Today’s announcement resolves outstanding issues which occurred more than six years ago at Camden Treatment Associates’ former location and had no impact on patient care," said Paul Zoubek, Montgomery McCracken Walker & Rhoads, representing CTA. "CTA has a long-standing commitment to improving operations and has made significant investments over the past several years to become a stronger organization and remains dedicated to serving the Camden community and providing its patients with exceptional care in its state-of-the-art facility."
More details on the case can be found here.