Fla. radiologists to pay $2.5 million in fraud case

Radiology Regional Center, Fort Myers, Fla., will pay $2.5 million to settle Department of Justice claims that the 25-physician group billed Medicare for procedures not ordered by patients' treating physicians from 1994 to 2003. The false claims, which allegedly totaled $1.25 million, included magnetic resonance imaging, ultrasound and reconstruction procedures. The civil settlement stems from a whistleblower lawsuit brought by one of the group's former employees, who will receive $443,378 of the settlement amount. The group did not admit liability. The settlement includes a five-year corporate integrity agreement. -- by Tony Fong