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Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
CT psychiatrist pays over $400,000 to settle improper Medicare billing allegations
A federal court has ruled that a Connecticut psychiatrist and her practice must pay over $400,000 to settle false claims and improper billing, officials said. Pain Management, LLC and its owner, Halina Snowball have entered into a civil settlement agreement with the federal government and have paid $427,129.11 to resolve allegations that they submitted false claims to, and received overpayments from, the Connecticut Medicare program, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Connecticut. Snowball is a psychiatrist licensed to practice medicine and sole owner of her pain management practice, Pain Management, LLC in Stamford. The allegations against Snowball and Pain Management arise out of improper billing for office visits, also known as evaluation and management services. The government alleges that between April 2017 and November 2019, Snowball and Pain Management, LLC submitted improper claims to Medicare for evaluation and management services by adding Modifier 25 to evaluation and management claims when providing pain injections when no significant, separately identifiable evaluation and management services were provided. Modifier 25 is a code modifier indicating a significant, separately identifiable evaluation and management service was performed by the same physician on the same day as another procedure or service, according to officials. It's used to ensure payment for the evaluation and management service is separate from another other service, preventing bundling, when used correctly. On Nov. 20, 2019, Snowball and Pain Management, LLC were notified of their improper use of Modifier 25 and were assessed an overpayment. Despite this notice, Snowball and Pain Management, LLC continued to submit improper claims to Medicare for evaluation and management services until August 2023. The investigation was conducted by the Office of Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services, officials said. Officials urge anyone who suspects health care fraud to report it by calling 1-800-HHS-TIPS. Stephen Underwood can be reached at sunderwood@
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
CT psychiatrist pays over $400,000 to settle improper Medicare billing allegations
A federal court has ruled that a Connecticut psychiatrist and her practice must pay over $400,000 to settle false claims and improper billing, officials said. Pain Management, LLC and its owner, Halina Snowball have entered into a civil settlement agreement with the federal government and have paid $427,129.11 to resolve allegations that they submitted false claims to, and received overpayments from, the Connecticut Medicare program, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Connecticut. Snowball is a psychiatrist licensed to practice medicine and sole owner of her pain management practice, Pain Management, LLC in Stamford. The allegations against Snowball and Pain Management arise out of improper billing for office visits, also known as evaluation and management services. The government alleges that between April 2017 and November 2019, Snowball and Pain Management, LLC submitted improper claims to Medicare for evaluation and management services by adding Modifier 25 to evaluation and management claims when providing pain injections when no significant, separately identifiable evaluation and management services were provided. Modifier 25 is a code modifier indicating a significant, separately identifiable evaluation and management service was performed by the same physician on the same day as another procedure or service, according to officials. It's used to ensure payment for the evaluation and management service is separate from another other service, preventing bundling, when used correctly. On Nov. 20, 2019, Snowball and Pain Management, LLC were notified of their improper use of Modifier 25 and were assessed an overpayment. Despite this notice, Snowball and Pain Management, LLC continued to submit improper claims to Medicare for evaluation and management services until August 2023. The investigation was conducted by the Office of Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services, officials said. Officials urge anyone who suspects health care fraud to report it by calling 1-800-HHS-TIPS. Stephen Underwood can be reached at sunderwood@
CBS News
09-05-2025
- CBS News
Alleged South Lake Tahoe drug dealer linked to 2024 fentanyl overdose deaths indicted in federal court
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE — An alleged drug dealer arrested in connection with four deadly overdoses in South Lake Tahoe was indicted in federal court, prosecutors said Thursday. At the end of April, the FBI announced that South Lake Tahoe resident Timothy Austin Pannell, 31, had been taken into custody, more than a year after four people — three men and one woman — died and a fifth person survived from fentanyl overdoses. The deaths occurred on February 12, 2024. Pannell was formally charged on Thursday with distribution of fentanyl causing death, the U.S. Attorney's Office's Eastern District of California announced. The U.S. Attorney's Office alleges that two of the men who died had met with Pannell in a church parking lot the night before to purchase what they thought was cocaine, but later turned out to be fentanyl. The two men then returned home and shared what they had purchased with three others. Pannell faces anywhere from 20 years to life in prison if he is convicted, prosecutors said. He also faces a $1 million fine.
