By CHELSAE CORDIA
Staff Writer
A civil settlement with the federal government will cost Gamma Healthcare more than a half million dollars for allegedly committing false claim fraud.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Missouri, Jerrod Murphy and Jerry Murphy knowingly submitted fraudulent claims to Medicare for travel allowance fees on mileage that was neither prorated nor traveled by a Gamma laboratory technician.
Based in Poplar Bluff, Gamma provides laboratory and other services to skilled nursing facilities and physicians.
Jerrod Murphy is the president and COO of Gamma Healthcare, Inc. Jerry Murphy, is Gamma's CEO and chairman of the company's board of directors.
The Murphys maintain the $525,000 settlement is not an admission of guilt, but rather a proactive step to remedy the situation.
"Gamma Healthcare, Inc., and its principals have entered into an agreement with the United States," Jerrod Murphy said. "This agreement is not an admission of liability and Gamma Healthcare maintains its position that it never knowingly violated any laws or regulations."
The U.S. alleges the claims occurred between April 2011 and December 2014 and were false because of the manner in which they were reported. Prosecutors said mileage was logged as if each specimen was collected separately, when in reality a technician retrieved many specimens in a single trip.
In some cases, prosecutors said, mileage was not actually traveled at all by Gamma representatives, but rather by a non-medical driver who performed a pickup service for specimens drawn by a technician.
Part of the settlement includes a five-year corporate integrity agreement with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, the U.S. Attorney's office stated.
According to the agreement, Gamma must comply with a number of obligations to ensure it remains compliant with federal health care program requirements.
Jerrod Murphy said the agreement reflects Gamma Healthcare's desire to resolve its disagreement with the government and its commitment to continue to provide the excellent and necessary service that Gamma's clients have come to expect.