Eye care practice in $615K fraud case responds to allegations

A Tampa Bay eyecare practice that agreed to pay $615,000 to settle civil allegations in what federal prosecutors called a kickback scheme says it “immediately discontinued” using the procedure when a Medicare audit raised concerns about the reimbursement process. A physician with the practice, Dr. Michael Manning, also says “we remain deeply committed to our patients’ well-being and to continuously improving how we deliver care.”

Pinellas Eye Care P.A., which operates under the brand Gulfcoast Eye Care, agreed to the settlement in a False Claims Act Case brought by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida in Tampa. The practice, with offices in Pinellas Park, Palm Harbor and St. Petersburg, knowingly submitted, and caused the submission of, false claims to Medicare and Medicaid for medically unnecessary transcranial doppler ultrasounds, or TCDs, authorities alleged. Gulfcoast Eye and a third-party provider of TCD services performed TCDs on thousands of patients and billed Medicare and Medicaid hundreds of dollars per test, the DoJ contended. 

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