Press Releases
06/25/2019
ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG ANNOUNCES $1.5 MILLION FALSE CLAIMS SETTLEMENT WITH CLINICAL SCIENCE LABORATORY, INC.
(Hartford, CT) – Connecticut Attorney General William Tong today announced a $1.5 million settlement with Clinical Science Laboratory, Inc. (CSL) and its owners Stanley Elfbaum and Louis Amoruso resolving False Claims Act violations related to over billing for urine drug tests.
The Connecticut Department of Social Services requires that independent clinical laboratories enrolled in the state Medicaid program bill at "the lowest price charged or accepted for the same or substantially similar goods or services by the provider from any person or entity."
A joint investigation by the Office of the Attorney General, the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General, Office of Investigations, and the United States Attorney's Office, District of Connecticut led authorities to discover that CSL was billing the state for $38 per urine drug test, while charging substance abuse treatment clinics only $2, in violation of state Medicaid regulations.
"Clinical Science Laboratory was billing the state's Medicaid program 19 times what it charged to other customers—diverting taxpayer resources away from other critical needs. Connecticut has been disproportionately devastated by the opioid epidemic, and we must ensure we are getting the absolute most out of every treatment dollar spent," said Attorney General Tong. "I want to thank our federal law enforcement partners and the DSS Office of Quality Assurance for their joint efforts in this investigation and strong settlement."
“Protecting the integrity of Connecticut’s Medicaid program from over-billing and other violations is a major priority for DSS anti-fraud investigators and our valued partners at the state and federal levels,” said DSS Commissioner Deidre S. Gifford. “This False Claims Act settlement will return significant taxpayer dollars while emphasizing that Medicaid regulations will be strongly enforced. We thank Attorney General Tong and his staff, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our federal Health and Human Services partners for their work on this case with DSS Quality Assurance staff."
The settlement was reached jointly with the U.S. Attorney's Office and CSL, as well as CSL owners Stanley Elfbaum and Louis Amoruso. Connecticut will receive $904,863 of the total settlement.
Anyone with knowledge of suspected fraud or abuse in the public healthcare system is asked to contact the Attorney General’s Antitrust and Government Program Fraud Department at 860-808-5040 or by email at ag.fraud@ct.gov; the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit at 860-258-5986 or by email at conndcj@ct.gov; or the Department of Social Services fraud reporting hotline at 1-800-842-2155, online at www.ct.gov/dss/reportingfraud, or by email to providerfraud.dss@ct.gov.
Assistant Attorneys General Gregory K. O'Connell and Michael E. Cole, Chief of the Antitrust and Government Program Fraud Department and assisted the Attorney General in this matter.
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Media Contact:
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