Jacksonville cardiovascular practice settles with the federal government

Jacksonville, FL — First Coast Cardiovascular Institute, P.A. is paying the federal government nearly $450,000 to settle claims it delayed repaying Medicate, Medicaid, TRICARE, and the Department of Veteran Affairs.

The US Attorney’s Office says FCCI amounted more than $175,000 in overpayments and credit balances from federal health care programs. Under the False Claims Act, it’s a violation to knowingly fail to pay back these obligations, but the USAO says- despite repeated warnings- FCCI failed to repay the money until the Department of Justice notified them they were opening an investigation.

The investigation started as a whistleblower complaint. The complainant in this case will receive roughly $90,000 of the proceeds from the settlement with FCCI, which totals $448,821.58. If you believe you know about potential fraud, waste, abuse, or mismanagement, you can report it to the Department of Health and Human Services at 800-HHS-TIPS.

The settlement resolves the claims but does not include any determination of liability.