Optician To Pay $678K To Resolve Medicaid Violations: Feds

HARTFORD, CT — An eye care business will pay more than $678,000 to resolve a False Claim Act violation, according to federal prosecutors. Lisa Azinheira and L.A. Vision LLC reached an agreement to resolve a claim that the optician made Medicaid claims on services that were not medically necessary.

According to prosecutors, starting in January 2014, every time Azinheira and L.A. Vision billed Connecticut Medicaid for a pair of eyeglasses, they also submitted a claim to Medicaid for "miscellaneous vision services or items" that were not justified.

L.A. Vision also encouraged Medicaid beneficiaries under 21 years old to choose up to three pairs of eyeglasses at a time, according to prosecutors. Medicaid does not consider spare pairs of eyeglasses medically necessary and are not covered. Azinheira and L.A. Vision submitted false claims to Medicaid for multiple pairs of eyeglasses not considered medically necessary, prosecutors said in the statement.

Azinheira and L.A. Vision have entered into a three-year agreement with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to ensure future compliance with Medicaid.