The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan announced on May 8 that Michigan Ear Care PLLC and James Aronovitz, D.O. agreed to pay over $2 million to resolve allegations that they submitted false claims to the Medicare and Medicaid programs.

Aronovitz allegedly billed for ear care services under his own National Provider Identifier (NPI) that were actually provided by physician assistants without the required supervision by a physician. The services were provided by the PAs mostly in nursing facilities and home health settings.

The settlement is a reminder that even services that were legitimately provided by a PA or other non-physician can result in “false claims” in the absence of proper supervision.