Orange-Based Business To Pay $467K Settlement: CT AG's Office

ORANGE, CT — Connecticut Attorney General William Tong today announced a $467,090 settlement with Orange-based Med Tech LLC and its owner Thomas Macre, Sr. resolving False Claims Act violations related to improper billing for durable medical equipment, according to a news release from the AG's office.

The settlement was reached jointly with the Connecticut U.S. Attorney's Office following an investigation by the Office of the Attorney General, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office of the Inspector General/Office of Investigations and the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit of the Office of the Chief State's Attorney. The investigation followed a referral from the Connecticut Department of Social Services (DSS) Office of Quality Assurance.

The investigation found that Med Tech had billed the Medicaid program for transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulator (TENS) devices and back braces that were not medically necessary, officials said. The investigation also determined that Med Tech billed the Medicaid program for TENS devices and back braces that were not provided to Medicaid recipients, officials said.

The settlement will reimburse both the federal and state shares of the Medicaid program, with the state receiving 60 percent of the settlement funds, officials said.

"Med Tech inappropriately overcharged the state for medical equipment that was either not provided or not medically necessary. The Office of the Attorney General will aggressively pursue these types of schemes in order to deter this conduct and protect taxpayer funded healthcare programs," said Tong in a news release.

“This False Claims Act settlement will help reimburse taxpayers for unacceptable actions taken by this durable medical equipment firm in billing the Medicaid program. We join Attorney General Tong in commending his staff, DSS Quality Assurance investigators and our partners at the Chief State’s Attorney’s Office and Department of Health and Human Services,” said DSS Commissioner Roderick L. Bremby, according to a prepared statement.

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.