Attorney General Josh Stein Announces $1.9 Million Medicaid Settlement with Cary Lab
(RALEIGH) Attorney General Josh Stein today announced that Aspirar Medical Lab LLC in Cary and its owner Pick Chay have agreed to pay $1,951,090 to resolve allegations that they violated the law by billing the North Carolina Medicaid program for unnecessary urine drug tests and paying illegal kickbacks for these tests.
“My office will hold accountable health care companies that waste money intended to improve the health of North Carolinians,” said Attorney General Josh Stein. “I’m grateful for the state and federal partnership to protect taxpayers.”
Aspirar allegedly paid two companies for each urine drug test that they referred to Aspirar. It was also alleged that these tests were medically unnecessary where they were not patient-specific and did not reflect an appropriate determination of the patient’s need for the test. Aspirar submitted these clams to Medicaid from March 2016 to September 2017.
The investigation and prosecution of this case was conducted in partnership with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina, the FBI in Charlotte, and the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
About the Medicaid Investigations Division (MID)
The Attorney General’s MID investigates and prosecutes health care providers that defraud the Medicaid program, patient abuse of Medicaid recipients, patient abuse of any patient in facilities that receive Medicaid funding, and misappropriation of any patients’ private funds in nursing homes that receive Medicaid funding.
To date, the MID has recovered more than $1 billion in restitution and penalties for North Carolina. To report Medicaid fraud or patient abuse in North Carolina, call the MID at 919-881-2320. The MID receives 75 percent of its funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under a grant award totaling $6,106,236 for Federal fiscal year (FY) 2022. The remaining 25 percent, totaling $2,035,412 for FY 2022, is funded by the State of North Carolina.
Are you tired of being bombarded by paywalls and pop-up ads when trying to read the news? Do you believe that access to reliable political news should be free and accessible to everyone? Then we urge you to support NC Political News, a weekly electronic political news outlet.
NC Political News is committed to providing high-quality, unbiased political reporting with columnists from all political sides. Unlike other news outlets, NC Political News is free to read and supported by businesses who purchase ad space on our website and in our newsletter, which goes out Monday through Friday at 7:00 am. This means that readers like you can access the news without being asked to pay a cent or dealing with frustrating advertisements.
However, to continue providing this valuable service, NC Political News needs your support. If you believe in the importance of accessible, free news, we urge you to click the image below. Any amount of support is appreciated.
Together, we can keep the news free and help ensure our state stays informed and connected.
