Austin, Texas — U.S. District Judge Robert Pittman ordered Austin acupuncturist Dongxin Ma and his clinic, Ma Acupuncture Center PC, to pay $2.3 million to the United States under the False Claims Act.
The order enforces a mediated settlement that resolves allegations that Dr. Marr and his clinic inflated billing to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for acupuncture services provided to veterans under the VA’s Community Care Program. Specifically, the U.S. lawsuit alleges that Dr. Marr billed the VA for 60 minutes of one-on-one personal consultations per veteran, despite the fact that each patient only lasted 15 minutes or less. According to the government’s complaint, Dr. Marr billed for as many as 61 hours a day of one-on-one consultations with veterans.
“Healthcare providers who treat our nation’s veterans are held to the highest standards,” said U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza for the Western District of Texas. “My office is committed to holding accountable health care providers who defraud the VA’s health care benefits program.”
“This civil settlement demonstrates VA OIG’s commitment to protecting the integrity of VA’s health care programs and preserving taxpayer funds,” said Special Agent in Charge Chris Raper of the VA Office of Inspector General’s South Central Field Office. “VA OIG thanks the U.S. Attorney’s Office for their work on this case.”
The U.S. lawsuit is titled United States v. Dongxin Ma et al., Civil Action No. 1:22-cv-00145-RP (WD, Texas). The United States was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Thomas Parnham and Leanne Noble.
The claims resolved through the settlement are allegations only, and no determination of liability has been made.
