Podiatry firm pays $181,000 billing fine

Submitted thousands of Medicare claims that weren’t covered, U.S. attorney says

The co-owners of a Lehigh Valley podiatry practice agreed to pay a $181,000 fine to settle an allegation of false billing for a medical device, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

Podiatrists Adam Teichman and Thomas Rocchio of PA Foot & Ankle Associates, which has offices in Allentown, Easton, Northampton and Lansford, Carbon County, submitted more than 7,000 claims for payment to Medicare involving the use of Sanexas, an electrical stimulation device, between September 2019 and March 2021, the office said. The treatment, which the practice mainly uses

to treat a nerve disorder in diabetic patients, was often billed with accompanying vitamin injections.

The U.S. attorney contended the treatments aren’t covered under Medicare or Medicaid because Sanexas treatment was not cleared by the Food and Drug Administration for use in combination with vitamin injections. Also, the vitamin blend was not FDA-approved and was produced in bulk, rather than prescribed for individual patients.

In billing the treatments, Teichman and Rocchio relied on the advice from a third-party billing company. They cooperated with the attorney’s office to resolve the allegations. There has been no determination of civil liability, the office said.

“Providers cannot blindly rely on a marketer’s advice or a medical billing service, especially when a health care billing scheme sounds too good to be true,” said U.S. Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams of the

Eastern District of Pennsylvania. “We would encourage anyone who may have been involved in similar billing to come forward voluntarily and self-disclose the misconduct.”

“We appreciate Drs. Teichman and Rocchio’s willingness to promptly negotiate a resolution in this matter,” she added, noting her office will continue to work with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Department of Justice and other agencies to crack down on companies responsible for the submission of false claims.

“Patient care and safety are top priorities for us, and every dollar saved is critical to the sustainability of our Medicare program and the needs of our beneficiaries,” said Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, administrator of the Medicaid services agency.