Massachusetts Drug Testing Lab Shells Out $84K to Settle SVT False Billing Charges

Case: A urine drug testing lab in Massachusetts is the latest to settle self-disclosed charges of falsely billing Medicare for specimen validity tests (SVTs). While Medicare covers drug testing as part of medically necessary treatment, it doesn’t cover SVTs, which are performed as part of a quality control process to catch drug test cheaters by verifying that a urine drug screen sample is consistent with normal human urine and hasn’t been adulterated, diluted or substituted. The Massachusetts lab will pay $84,393 to settle the case with the OIG. Significance: In 2018, the OIG issued a report contending that Medicare made $66.3 million in improper SVT payments to nearly 4,500 labs and physician offices. In response, CMS ordered Medicare contractors to take measures to get that money back. Since then, at least a dozen urine drug testing labs have come forward to self-disclose improper SVT billing, generating nearly $3 million in total recoveries. Here’s the settlement rundown in order of settlement amount. Urine Drug Testing Lab SVT Billing Settlements Lab Settlement Amount Ethos Laboratory (Newport, KY) $1,345,959 American Toxicology Lab, LLC (Johnson City, TN) $175,889 Northern Kentucky Center for Pain Relief $126,799 VerraLab JA, LLC (Louisville, KY) $125,983 Wheelersburg Internal Medicine […]