JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) - One of the nation’s largest radiation oncology providers has settled a federal Medicare fraud case for $34.7 million.
U.S. Attorney A. Lee Bentley III said Tuesday that Fort Myers-based 21st Century Oncology settled the case alleging the company performed and billed for procedures that were not medically necessary.
The “Gamma function” procedure measures radiation on cancer patients after treatment. Bentley says 21st Century improperly billed for the procedure by doctors not properly trained to read the test results.
The original lawsuit was filed by Joseph Ting, a former medical physicist at South Florida Radiation Oncology who exposed the fraudulent billing. Ting will receive more than $7 million in the settlement.
21st Century said in a statement that in settling it did not admit wrongdoing and that no patients were harmed.
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