by Ben Vernia | January 25th, 2012
On January 19, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts announced a settlement in an investigation of medically unnecessary genetic tests:
Cancer Genetics, Inc., a New Jersey-based company that previously operated a laboratory in Milford, Mass., has paid the United States one million dollars to settle allegations that it improperly submitted claims to Medicare for chromosome karyotyping studies from July 2003 to March 2005.
The settlement agreement resolves government allegations that Cancer Genetics, Inc. improperly submitted claims to Medicare for chromosome karyotyping studies that were not medically necessary. Chromosome karyotyping studies are used in the diagnosis of various types of cancer. A karyotype is an arrangement of the chromosomes of a single cell for chromosome analysis. The government’s investigation found that Cancer Genetics, Inc. billed Medicare for studies using 20 karyotypes when only two or three karyotypes were medically necessary. As a result of its improper billing, Cancer Genetics, Inc. received a higher amount of Medicare reimbursement than was authorized.
