Eugene Y. Chang, Insurance Fraud, Virginia 2014

RICHMOND, Va. – A shocking case of medical malfeasance has come to light as Bon Secours Health System, Inc. and one of its surgical oncologists, Dr. Eugene Y. Chang, M.D., have agreed to pay $400,000 to settle civil fraud allegations.

The allegations revolve around Dr. Chang’s activities while at Bon Secours Maryview Medical Center in Portsmouth, where he billed Medicare and other federal healthcare payors for non-covered breast examinations and ultrasounds between June 1, 2010, through Dec. 31, 2014. The investigation found that Dr. Chang falsified documents with diagnosis codes, such as “lump or mass in breast,” where none existed.

According to the allegations, Dr. Chang would assign a code that requires a chief complaint from the patient, indicating to Medicare and other payors that the examination was “diagnostic,” while patient charts maintained by Dr. Chang indicated that the patient had no complaint. This resulted in federal healthcare programs paying for non-covered screening examinations and ultrasounds.

The settlement resolves allegations in a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia by a former Bon Secours practice manager and a former colleague of Dr. Chang under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act. The relator share in this settlement is $108,000.

The relators alleged that Bon Secours’ management had specific knowledge of Dr. Chang’s activities after the relators alerted Bon Secours to the problem in August 2011.

The resolutions obtained in this matter were the result of a coordinated effort between the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Office of Inspector General, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, and the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, Office of the Inspector General.

The civil claims settled by this False Claims Act agreement are allegations only; there has been no determination of civil liability.

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