Justin Sullivan/Getty Images News Walgreens ( NASDAQ: WBA )-backed urgent care provider CityMD has agreed to pay more than $12M to resolve allegations that the company falsely claimed government payments related to COVID-19 testing during the pandemic, the U.S. Department of Justice ((DoJ)) announced.
The settlement follows an investigation into allegations that New York-based CityMD, as part of a federal program reserved for COVID-19 testing among the uninsured, submitted false claims seeking payments even for insured individuals. CityMD, which operates about 177 urgent care facilities in New York and New Jersey, filed these claims or made outside labs to file such claims to the program from February 4, 2020, through April 5, 2022, the DoJ alleged. “The alleged misuse of these funds is something we cannot and will not tolerate .
Today’s settlement ensures that the money that was obtained inappropriately will be returned to the government,” said U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger.
CityMD joined Walgreens’ ( WBA ) portfolio in early 2023 after the former’s parent Summit Health agreed to be acquired by WBA-backed VillageMD for approximately $8.9B with investments from Cigna’s ( NYSE: CI ) Pharmacy Benefits Manager, Evernorth, More on Cigna, Walgreens, etc. Walgreens: Another Dividend Cut Could Be Coming Soon (Rating Downgrade) 5 Reasons Walgreens Fell By 6.
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