Hanna "Johnny" Mitias, MD, owner of New Albany, Miss.-based Mitias Orthopaedics, agreed to pay $1.8 million to resolve allegations of submitting false claims to Medicare and Medicaid, The Oxford Eagle reported Jan. 11.
Between Jan. 1, 2008, and Dec. 31, 2015, Dr. Mitias and his clinic allegedly submitted false claims for brand-name knee injection agents that weren't administered to Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, the report said. Instead, a cheaper compounded agent was allegedly used while Dr. Mitias claimed higher compensation for the brand-name products.
The settlement resolves allegations brought forth by a medical device sales representative under the whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act.
Mitias Orthopaedics has a subsidiary also named in the allegations, Olive Branch, Miss.-based Champion Orthopedics.