A urologist based in Florida has reached a settlement in the amount of $250,000 that will serve to resolve the allegations that he submitted fraudulent claims for unnecessary laboratory testing.

This recent settlement was related to a False Claims Act healthcare fraud whistleblower lawsuit previously filed against 21^st Century Oncology LLC, a nationwide cancer care provider, in the amount of $20 million.

Dr. Robert A. Scappa of Scappa Urology, based in Ft. Myers as a division of 21^st Century, has admitted no wrongdoing in his settlement.

U.S. Department of Justice officials said that the amount of Dr. Scappa’s settlement was based on his ability to pay.

“In fighting healthcare fraud, it is important that individual physicians, as well as their employers, be held accountable,” U.S. attorney A. Lee Bentley III said in a statement. “Doctors should not be able to escape personal liability for healthcare fraud.”

The original healthcare fraud whistleblower lawsuit was filed against 21^st Century in March 2013 when former company medical assistant brought forth allegations that the service provider submitted claims for tests deemed medically unnecessary.

These tests are known as FISH tests and stand for fluorescence in situ hybridization.

The investigation by the Department of Justice revealed that for urologists practicing in Fort Myers ordered these tests: Dr.’s Scappa, Dr. David Spellberg, Dr. Steven Paletsky and Dr. Meir Daller.

Following the healthcare fraud whistleblower lawsuit settlement reached with Dr. Scappa, the whistleblower will receive $37,500 as a portion of her recovery.

This is in addition to the $3.2 million the whistleblower she will also receive resulting from the $19.75 million settlement that 21^st Century reached and an additional $199,500 from her share of the recovery after Dr. Spellberg agreed to a $1 million settlement in January, according to the Department of Justice.

The claims that are pending against Dr. Daller and Dr. Patelsky are currently of undetermined status

According to the investigation, in January 2009, Dr.Scappa began referring all of his FISH laboratory testing directly to a laboratory that was owned and operated by 21^st Century. As a result, the lab gave him monetary bonuses based on the quantity of tests he sent to the lab, among other considerations.

The FISH tests under question are only considered medically necessary or reasonable under Medicare guidelines if they are used to monitor for tumor recurrence in patients who had been previously diagnosed with bladder cancer.

They are also necessary if the doctor suspects bladder cancer following a full urologic workup and the patient experiences blood in the urine, federal officials stated.

“Tests ordered to increase profits rather than improve the health care of patients are an attack on Medicare and the American taxpayer,” read a statement by Special Agent in Charge Shimon R. Richmond of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General.

This isn’t the only case that 21^st Century has been involved in. The company agreed to pay a $35 million settlement following a separate healthcare fraud whistleblower lawsuit in March that alleged fraudulent Medicare billing.

The Healthcare Fraud Whistleblower Lawsuit is Case No. 2:13-cv-00228, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida.