CityMD Agrees to $12 Million to Pay Department of Justice Over Alleged Covid-19 Payments Violation — Update

By Sabela Ojea

CityMD has agreed to pay more than $12 million to the Department of Justice for allegedly submitting false claims for payment for Covid-19 testing to the Health Resources and Services Administration governmental program for uninsured patients.

The urgent-care chain's settlement resolves allegations related to the violation of the False Claims Act, the Department of Justice's Office of Public Affairs said Friday. The act encourages people with knowledge of suspected false claims to sue on the government's behalf.

"The recent settlement is neither a finding of liability nor an admission of wrongdoing, and CityMD denies the allegations," a company spokesperson said. "However, we settled this matter to avoid the cost and burden of prolonged litigation."

CityMD is owned by Walgreens Boots Alliance after the pharmacy operator acquired Summit Health in a late 2022 transaction worth roughly $9 billion, including debt.

From Feb. 4, 2020, to April 5, 2022, CityMD allegedly knowingly submitted payment for Covid-19 testing to the Uninsured Program for individuals who had health insurance coverage when CityMD administered those tests, the DOJ said.

CityMD cooperated with the investigation and voluntarily contracted a third party to assist in determining the amount of the losses the U.S. contends were caused by claims submitted to the Uninsured Program for patients who had health insurance, the DOJ said.

"We remain proud that we were available to our patients at all times throughout the pandemic, and we look forward to continuing to serve them," the company spokesperson said.

Write to Sabela Ojea at sabela.ojea@wsj.com; @sabelaojeaguix

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 07, 2024 19:06 ET (23:06 GMT)

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