Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute in Fort Myers has agreed to repay $2.34 million to the Department of Veterans Affairs for some claims related to physician-administered drugs, federal officials in Florida announced.
The VA contracted with Florida Cancer Specialists, a non-VA facility, to provide oncology services for veterans, but overpaid the cancer treatment center for physician-administered drugs, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida. The cancer center will return the money in a civil settlement.
A claims resolution specialist with Florida Cancer Specialists filed a whistleblower complaint after contacting the VA Office of Inspector General's hotline about her discovery. The inspector general found that a mistake in the fee basis claims system caused the overpayment and the mistake has been corrected.
Florida Cancer Specialists cooperated with the investigation, U.S. Attorney Chapa Lopez said.
"After we were informed that the Department of Veterans Affairs mistakenly overpaid for certain physician-administered drugs, we worked cooperatively with the government to identify and ensure the return of the funds," Florida Cancer Specialists CFO Nathan Walcker said in a statement provided to Becker's. "Florida Cancer Specialists takes great pride in its long-established history of providing the highest quality, value-based care to patients and will continue to do so for years to come."