North Carolina to receive nearly $200K in alleged health care fraud settlement

RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — Healthcare programs in North Carolina will receive $200,000 following a settlement with a Rowan County doctor over alleged laboratory kickback schemes.

On Wednesday, North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein announced a $625,000 settlement with Dr. Eric Troyer of Landis and his medical practice, Troyer Medical Inc. State health care programs will receive $195,746 from the settlement, while federal health care programs will receive $429,254, according to the attorney general’s office.

From August 2015 to November 2021, according to the Attorney General’s office, Troyer and his medical practice allegedly received thousands of dollars in kickbacks from a laboratory in Anderson, South Carolina, for sending referrals to that laboratory. The kickbacks were allegedly disguised as analyzers, office space rentals, and phlebotomy payments.

The Attorney General’s office said the alleged kickbacks resulted in the submission of false or fraudulent laboratory testing claims to Medicare, Medicaid, and TRICARE in violation of the False Claims Act. Troyer and his practice have agreed to cooperate with the United States Department of Justice’s investigations of other participants in the alleged schemes.

“Doctors need to make decisions based on what’s best for their patients, not based on what puts more money back in their own pockets,” said Attorney General Josh Stein. “I’m pleased that these funds are being returned to the people. My office will not allow health care providers to waste taxpayer resources.”

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